Two Can Keep A Secret
by Lovely Little Loser
Summary: When Drew realizes how close he comes to failing math, he thinks all he needs is a tutor. But can Clare be what he really needs; someone he can actually trust?
1. In Need of a Saint

**A/N: **Though I do love Eli/Clare with a passion, I've recently become attracted to this pairing and thought I'd give them a try. I hope you like this fic so leave a review and tell me how I did. Happy reading!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Degrassi or any of the characters.

* * *

"Eli," Clare squealed as she pulled her dark haired boyfriend through the crowded hallway. He kept asking what she was so worked up about but she refused to answer. Instead, she merely continued through the hall with her hand firmly griping his wrist, preventing him from escaping. "Hurry up!"

"Clare... Where on Earth are you taking me?" Eli demanded with a chuckle. He had to admit, she was pretty adorable when she was so excited. Clare scoffed and smiled as she stopped dead in her tracks.

"Alli's coming back to school today. I've only told you about fifty times in the past week!" she replied. Her brisk walk turned into a slight jog as she tried to race to meet Alli at the school's entrance. Eli followed closely behind, laughing all the while. Pushing through the other students, the couple finally made it to the school's front doors, standing on the front steps of Degrassi.

"Is she here yet?" Eli asked as he broke his arm free from Clare's grip and placed it around her shoulders. Clare chewed on her lip silently. Her clear blue eyes ghosted over the hundreds of students making their way into the building before the bell rang. There were tons of girls in the signature sophomore purple polo shirt. But none of them were Alli.

"I don't... Wait a second... There she is!" Clare said as she pointed at her dark haired friend in the crowd. Alli hadn't noticed as she slowly walked toward the building. Even in her uniform she still stood out from the crowd. Alli's eyes finally caught Clare's gaze, causing both girls' eyes to light up in pure elation.

"Alli!"

"Clare!" The two girls embraced each other tightly and squealed. Both friends began chattering away eagerly, wanting to fill the other in on everything they'd missed since they last met. Eli rolled his eyes. No matter how smart or stubborn Clare could be, he knew, girls would be girls.

"Hey Clare, I'm gonna meet up with Adam. I'll see you later tonight at the Dot, okay?" Eli said. Clare nodded eagerly and gave Eli a quick but meaningful peck before he wandered off to meet Adam. He walked to Adam's locker and sure enough, Adam was there along with his older step-brother Drew.

"Hey Adam," Eli greeted his best friend with their classic fist bump, and then he nodded at Drew in acknowledgement.

"'Sup dude?" Adam said. "Where's Clare? Did God help Clare finally realize she's too good for you?" Eli rolled his eyes at Adam's teasing and smirked.

"Ouch!" Eli said placing a hand over his heart dramatically. "That hurts man. But actually, she's off with Alli talking about the wonderful world of females." Eli and Adam shared a laugh, but Drew merely looked around apprehensively.

"Alli's back?" Drew asked, his light eyes filling with hope. "Maybe she can..."

"She still hates you man," Adam cut in. Drew's eyes which were once brimming with hope suddenly fell. "No way she's gonna tutor you."

"Tutor?" Eli asked. He tried not to laugh at the ultimate cliché; star jock failing a class miserably and not knowing a single thing about the course.

"Well yeah... I'm not doing so well in trigonometry..." Drew said. Adam laughed and mentally added that Drew wasn't doing well in trigonometry, Italian, history, or physics, but he refrained from poking fun at his older brother. They were family after all and had to look out for each other. Noticing Eli's perplexed look, Adam sighed and rolled his eyes before giving Eli the full explanation.

"Actually, Mister Football here isn't doing well at all in trigonometry. In fact, he has one quiz left before midterms and if he doesn't manage to get at least an B+ on the midterm he's gonna have a great time in summer school. And we all know how much our mom is gonna love that," Adam stated. He stressed the last sentence, causing Drew to sigh. Nothing, not even an angry girlfriend or getting tackled on the field was quit as terrifying as their mother when she was ticked off. It also didn't help that she began hounding him to get better grades for the past month or so.

"Thing is, I need a tutor, but no one's available," Drew said.

"Really?" Eli asked. He cocked one eyebrow as if to say that Drew was wasn't the sharpest knife in the drawer. "There are a ton of tutors who need the cash and the volunteer credits..."

"Yeah, but after hearing this guy's tragic story, nobody wants to help... Not that I blame them..." Adam mumbled. Drew punched his younger step-brother in the arm and rolled his eyes. The last thing he needed was someone joking about his situation. If he failed, their mother had threatened to take him off of football.

"Quit joking okay? If I can't get Alli to forgive me, how the hell am I going to pass this term?" Drew asked. The three boys were silent for a moment, before Eli's famous smirk tugged on his lips. Before Drew could ask what Eli was thinking, the latter spoke.

"I might have a solution for you," the green eyed boy said slyly.

"Really?" Drew asked. "At this point, anybody would be a God sent!" Eli chuckled and shook his head.

"Actually, she's a saint."

**Kind of short, I know. I hope you like it so far! Leave a review!**


	2. Keeping It Professional

**A/N: **I had quite a bit of fun with this chapter. I hope you all enjoy it as much as the last! Leave a review when you're done!

* * *

"Hey Clare," Eli said as soon as the bell rung dismissing them from English. "Got a second?"

"Of course," his brunette girlfriend replied with a flirty smile. Eli returned the smile and snaked an arm around her waist as they made their way out of the classroom.

"Would you do me and Adam a small favor?" Eli asked in a low voice. He was careful how he chose his words. Considering the fact that Clare and Alli were best friends and both had a mutual hatred for Drew after he cheated on Alli with Bianca, getting Clare to tutor the boy would be nothing short of a miracle. But then again, this was Saint Clare, the girl who couldn't help but be forgiving to everything and everyone. Besides, if Eli was only helping Drew so he wouldn't complain to Adam, Clare could do the same right?

"What is it?" Clare asked with a puzzled look.

"Can you tutor someone? In math I mean," Eli stated. Clare giggled as she gave her boyfriend an odd look. She could tell he was trying to work some kind of angle on her. There was no other explanation for his vagueness.

"Depends. Is this a friend of yours?" Clare asked sweetly, now curious to find out who needed math tutoring. She knew it obviously couldn't be Eli. He had an A- in the class. Perhaps it was Adam, but he would've asked for himself, wouldn't he? It wasn't like they were strangers.

"You could say, it's for a friend of a friend," Eli said. That wasn't a lie after all. Drew and Adam were incredibly close. In fact they were the closest pair of brothers Eli had ever met. Especially considering they weren't blood related.

"Does this person have a name?" Clare asked. She'd given up on the subtle approach, now that it was obvious Eli wouldn't say anything.

"Why complicate things?" he shot back with his famous smirk. Clare sighed in defeat. Eli could be so damn stubborn sometimes.

"Well... Alright I suppose," Clare stated. Eli grinned in victory. "But! You owe me. Big time,"

"Knew I could count on you Clare," Eli said as he gave Clare a kiss before walking her into her next class. Somehow Clare knew she had just made a big mistake.

* * *

"Hey emo boy," a loud voice called from behind. Eli turned to see a familiar girl strutting towards him with a sly look on her face. He wasn't in the mood to talk to her. Not that he ever was.

"What do you want Bianca?" Eli asked with an irritated voice. He knew her too well to not know she was scheming something. Bianca merely gave him an innocent smile as she sauntered close up to him.

"I over heard you and Drew having that little convo of yours this morning," she stated. Eli rolled his eyes, not even sparing her a second glance. He had better things to do than get involved with Bianca and her drama.

"So you're a nosy bitch. Tell me something I don't know."

"Can you shut up and listen for one Goddamn minute?" Bianca asked. The two glared at each other. Eli had half a mind to keep walking to the cafeteria but he stayed. Maybe she'd have something worth listening to.

"I'm listening," Eli said. He had a strong feeling he'd regret saying those words.

"I want help too," Bianca said. She noticed Eli's confused look and continued. "I want you to help me start over. I want to stop all the stupid shit I've been doing. I want to get rid of all this drama."

"Sorry, I'm an atheist, not a psychologist," Eli said. She had to be lying. Bianca lived for drama. She wasn't satisfied unless there was something she could destroy. Someone's self-esteem, a relationship, you name it. Eli turned to leave but Bianca grabbed his arm before he could go.

"Please," she begged. Eli tried to shake her off but he couldn't find it in his heart to do it. He didn't like her in slightest bit, but she seemed pretty pathetic. Pathetic and lost. Turning her down wouldn't make him the bigger person. Against his better judgment Eli sighed and agreed.

"Fine." Eli said. "I'll try to help." Bianca tried to hug him but he distanced her from her. She looked confused but Eli spoke.

"Rule number one," Eli said as Bianca looked at him with a puzzled expression, "We keep this professional."

* * *

"But you promised me you'd come over!" Alli whined as Clare began putting things away in her locker. Clare tried to be sympathetic but she knew Alli wouldn't understand her situation.

"I know, I know but something came up," she replied as she slammed her locker shut. Eli had texted her after the final bell rang telling her to meet her by the library. Clare had made a list of all the people Eli might want to help out but none seemed suitable. She had to admit, she was just the slightest bit excited to meet the mystery person.

"Clare! I need you to come home with me. I promised my parents I would stay glued to you so I could come back to Degrassi," Alli pleaded as she tried to follow alongside her best friend. Clare knew she'd have to ward off Alli. If Eli didn't even want her to know who she was tutoring until now, she was certain he wouldn't want anyone else to know either.

"Well, you're not lying," Clare said.

"Clare..."

"Alli," Clare said with a sigh, "I promise I'll come over later this week. Something really important came up and I can't get out of it. But I'll call tonight and hopefully I get to put in a good word with your parents." Alli had her arms crossed. She didn't look happy but she mumbled a quiet "OK" much to Clare's delight.

"Thanks Alli," she said as she squeezed her best friend in a tight hug.

"Yeah, yeah," Alli replied as she returned the gesture. "I missed you so much."

"Me too," Clare said as she finally managed to let go of the hug. After a long goodbye, Clare turned and walked quickly to the library. She was happy to see Eli and more than a little eager to meet the mystery person. Besides how bad could it be? It's not like Eli would ask her to tutor Fitz. Clare shuddered at the thought. She hadn't seen him since Vegas Night, and she was happy to be able to say that. Clare finally reached the library's entrance. She opened the door to meet her boyfriend who was waiting for her.

"Well it's about time," Eli said. "We were starting to think you got lost."

"Ha ha," Clare said with a sarcastic look. "I'm sorry but I had to get rid of Alli. She was really upset I cancelled on her."

"Good call," he muttered. Clare didn't notice and she merely looked around the library.

"So uh, where are they?" the fifteen year old girl asked. Eli smiled.

"In the back corner, out of your line of sight," he replied, amused by her astonished look. Was she here to tutor someone in math or handle a drug deal? "Just trust me okay?" he said. Eli then gently pushed her, forcing Clare to walk further into the library. She gave Eli a pout.

"Okay, you win. But are we still on for tonight?" she asked with a smile. Eli leaned forward and pressed his lips against hers. Clare felt as if she was about to melt. Eli had that effect on her.

"Of course," he replied, not mentioning that he was about to meet up with Bianca in the parking lot. Without another word, Eli turned on his heel and walked out of the library, leaving Clare to face the mystery person by herself. As she walked to the back of the library, she couldn't help but wonder who it could be. Maybe it was Jenna. Clare had told Eli about her drama with KC and Jenna the previous year so maybe he thought she still had negative feelings towards her. Or maybe it was KC himself. Whoever it was, it had to be someone Eli knew she wasn't too fond of.

As if fate liked messing with her, Clare found herself face to face with one of the very people she couldn't stand for the life of her. That tan skin, dark brown hair and crystal blue eyes combo was enough to make her cringe, just like it would for Alli. For a second, Clare couldn't say a word. He looked at her with innocent and guilt stricken eyes. He didn't want her to tutor him; he obviously wanted her to help him win Alli back. Well, it wasn't going to happen. Not in a million years.

"Clare, I know you hate me, but please-"

"If this is some game to win Alli back, you can forget about it," she stated angrily. Clare couldn't believe Eli asked her to help _him_, Drew Torres, of all people. The guy who broke her best friend's heart and thought a few apologies would fix it. Well she wouldn't have it.

"No Clare, I messed up with Alli I know. And I'm not trying to drag you or anyone else into it. That's my problem. But I'm failing math. I just need your help, so please. Just help me for a little while. I'm begging you." Drew was pleaded with her with the most serious face Clare had ever seen him with. Her common sense told her this was a bad idea, but this was Adam's older brother. And Eli asked her to do this. He would never ask her for something without a good reason. She made up her mind. She'd do it for them, and nobody else. Especially not some dumb jock that broke Alli's heart for some overconfident slut.

"Fine," Clare said as she crossed her arms over her chest. "I'll do it." Drew exhaled in relief but Clare's face didn't change. This boy was walking on thin ice with her as it was and the last thing she needed was for him to set her off. She wasn't trying to be nice. It was strictly business.

**Please review and I'll update ASAP!**


	3. Side Effects

**A/N: **I wanted to write this chapter before I go back to school (I had the week off so that explains the fast updates) Updating will probably get slower after this but I'm really determined to get through this fic. So please bear with me and don't forget to review!

* * *

Clare hated the feeling of being speechless. Drew was probably mocking her, as he attempted to solve quadratic equations. She knew it. He was probably nitpicking at her appearance or her diction. Clare just knew it. She tried to keep her mouth shut but she simply couldn't. The questions buzzing through her mind wouldn't give her peace. Drew didn't notice the death glares he was receiving until Clare spoke out in frustration.

"How do you know my name?" Clare asked in a bitter tone. Drew looked up at Clare. He seemed to be thrown by her question, considering that all his attention was focused on his math problems.

"Excuse me?" he asked as he looked at her from across the library table. Her arms were still folded across her chest, even as she sat in a chair opposite from him. Her frown seemed to be permanent. It was as if she'd never smile in Drew's presence. Drew quietly noted that Clare's expression only rivaled Alli's in intensity.

"How do you know my name?" Clare repeated. She gave him a look that let him know she was determined to hear his answer. Drew looked around and chuckled as if she were joking.

"You're one of my brother's best friends aren't you? Not to mention you're Alli's best friend too," Drew replied.

"Oh," Clare said quietly. She fiddled around for a bit, not wanting the jock across from her to think he had avoided her questioning. Oh heavens no, she was just getting started. She cleared her throat before speaking up as nonchalantly as she could fake. "So you still think about Alli?" Drew cocked an eyebrow at Clare. She was obviously fishing for information. Well, he could play that game too, and he'd happily prove it. He placed his pencil down on his notebook, glad to have a legitimate distraction.

"You're not very happy that you're tutoring me, are you?" Drew asked. Clare rolled her eyes and gave him a sarcastic laugh.

"You could say this was under less than ideal circumstances," she replied in a matter-of-factly tone.

"And I bet you'd much rather be sucking face with that hearse guy, right?" Drew shot back. Clare despised the mischievous glint in Drew's eyes.

"He has a name."

"And you have someone you're _supposed_ to be tutoring." The two stared at each other strategically. This was meant to be a tutoring session to help Drew in math. How on Earth had this turned into some battle by word of mouth? Clare's expression still didn't change. She was determined to let Drew know she wasn't like any other girl he had been around. A few quick remarks wouldn't make her warm up to him.

"You know, I don't have to tutor you," Clare said. "I skipped out on a day with Alli to help you." Drew looked taken back. Clare really was the sweet and wholesome person she was portrayed to be. He couldn't think of a single person who would've helped him in his situation, let alone ditch their best friend to help him.

"Really? But isn't she like... you're best friend forever? Why would you do that?" Drew asked. His eyes showed his confusion. He simply couldn't understand the way Clare thought. And now that he was thinking about it, he was interested to find out.

"Eli asked me to help you, so here I am," Clare stated simply. Drew let out a light chuckle as he noticed the abstinence ring on Clare's left hand. He could tell it had something written on it though what it said exactly was impossible for him to read.

"You really have a thing for him don't you? It won't be long until he finally gets that damn ring off your finger." Drew shot Clare a wicked grin as Clare felt her cheeks grow hotter. She couldn't believe the things that Drew said. He was so crass and blunt, yet he didn't seem to care.

"How dare you..." Clare tried to say but she lost the words. Drew had thrown her off and she had to take a second to cool off. She hoped he would stay silent but instead, his teasing continued.

"Cat got your tongue? Or maybe Eli has it..."

"That's enough!" Clare exclaimed. A few other students turned their heads to look at their table. Clare was mortified. She did exactly what Drew wanted and she fell straight into his trap. How couldn't she have seen it coming? Drew grinned at his tutor triumphantly.

"Maybe I'll just get back to these functions," he said. Clare didn't say anything. Instead the two sat in silence unless Drew asked for help with a problem. Clare was more than glad to have a break from him. He had a certain way of getting under her skin. He was like the annoying itch that couldn't be scratched. After almost twenty minutes of silence, Clare noticed that Drew had stopped working to stare at her intently.

"Can I help you?" she asked. Her voice had a certain irritation in it. Drew didn't seem to notice though. He chewed on his pencil for a minute before he spoke.

"You're not mad right? I was totally kidding before," he said.

"Um, what?" Clare asked. She hadn't expected an apology from him, especially not without being asked. It truly was something to think about. Drew took the term unpredictable to a whole new level. "It's fine. It was just some... Innocent fun."

"But you don't want to be here obviously," Drew said. "I need a tutor, but we're not gonna get much done if I'm busy beating you in arguments." Clare scoffed and was about to tell him, but she knew he was right. If she and Drew couldn't sit in the same room without being so easily distracted, they'd never get anything done. For Clare that would mean a lot of wasted time and for Drew it would mean a horrible math grade.

"So what do you think we should do?" Clare asked. Drew shrugged sheepishly.

"It's probably help if you didn't hate my guts," he said. Clare still wanted to be angry at him, but Drew made some pretty good points. Perhaps she could put her past bias behind her just for a while. It couldn't hurt to try and be civil could it?

"That won't be a problem. You may have done some stupid things that I don't agree with, and I may not like you, but I'm a big girl. I'll find a way to deal with it," she said coolly.

"Good," the dark haired boy replied. "I'd be pretty screwed if you didn't." Clare shook her head. Drew was the kind of person who had a smart ass comment for everything. Just like Eli, though with a lot less wit and whole lot more vulgarity. Still, somehow she found that countering him was nearly impossible. Luckily, he interrupted Clare's thoughts before she needed to formulate a clever reply.

"Am I doing this right?" Drew asked as he showed her a problem he'd been working on. Clare did the problem step by step and got the same answer. She was almost shocked by it. The problem was a bit on the difficult side and she was surprised that someone who needed tutoring understood it completely.

"Yeah, actually. Maybe you should work on something you don't know that well," Clare suggested. Drew flipped through his notebook before he looked at his watch. It was minutes to 5 already and he and Clare had already covered quite a bit.

"It's getting late," Drew said. "I do have this one question on logarithms though, so if you want to go over it with me..."

"Sure," Clare replied before he could finish speaking. Drew showed her a problem he had scribbled in is notebook. After taking a second to see what was being asked and looking over Drew's work, Clare's eyes widened. He had the problem completely correct. Every single step was right. Drew looked at Clare with a blank face.

"What?" he demanded as he studied her expression. Clare looked at the notebook, then back at Drew. It didn't make any sense. It was Drew Torres. He wasn't supposed to be good at things academic wise. Clare was more confused than Drew was at that point.

"You're absolutely right..." Clare stated. She handed him his notebook quietly, noticing his expression was still blank. "How did you get the answer?" There was a slight pause. Drew hesitated as if he was thinking of the right answer. The silence seemed to be building slowly. Clare knew that whatever Drew was thinking, he was finding the words to say it in a way she wouldn't really be able to reprimand him for.

"I sit near a lot of smart people," he finally replied. Clare nodded translating it to mean '_I have a lot of smart kids to cheat off of in math_'. That made perfect sense considering Drew's personality. Not that Clare wanted to be rude to Drew, but he didn't strike her as a math genius.

"Well, do you want an explanation?" Clare asked. Drew nodded and tried his best to listen to every detail of Clare's explanation. Her voice was soft and patient. Drew was dying to know if Clare was still upset with him and was covering up for it. She didn't seem quite as mad anymore at least. He forced himself to tune in to Clare as she thoroughly covered everything Drew had to know about the problem. He refrained from asking her anything until after she was absolutely finished to avoid throwing her off. She was no Alli, but she was a good tutor none the less.

"Thanks," Drew said. He stuffed his notebook into his bag as Clare watched him quietly. She still remembered Eli's promise to take her out. She was happy that it was almost time to meet him but tutoring drained her. All she wanted to do was crawl up in bed and fall asleep. She got the odd feeling that being with Drew would have that side effect. Oh joy.

"I guess I'll meet you here tomorrow," Clare said as she packed up her things.

"Yeah," Drew replied. They started to get ready to leave in silence. They were still strangers in most respects. It wasn't as if they were just going to hit it off. Clare gave Drew a quick glance through her eyelashes. He was an odd ball, Clare decided. Drew, from what she could tell, was the type to not really care about anything too much. Not his girlfriends, not his peers, and up until that point his grades. But, she'd put her past feelings aside for the sake of helping him. She was the one and only Saint Clare. It was practically her duty to help the less fortunate.

"Drew, do you mind if we keep this a secret?" Clare asked. "Me tutoring you and all? I know Alli will have a fit if she finds out."

"No problem," Drew replied. Clare smiled gratefully. She hadn't expected him to agree and she was more than happy he was cooperating with her.

"Thanks," Clare said. As she walked out of the library, she let out a sigh of relief. At least that was over with.

* * *

"So what exactly do you want me to do?" Bianca asked as she placed her hand on her hips. Her scowl wasn't as deep as it used to be; Eli could tell there was some kind of change going on. He hoped he wasn't imagining it. He knew that the girl was trouble and he was pressing his luck just by acknowledging her.

"I don't know," he replied incredulously. "Why do you want my help?"

"Teach me," Bianca said as she came closer to him. Without her usual heels, she was eye level with Eli. The pair stared each other down. "Show me what it's like to be with a guy..." Bianca paused as she walked closer to Eli. He stepped back. He had an odd feeling about Bianca's intentions. She was a flirt and he willingly agreed to meet up with her in private. It was such a bad idea.

"You've been with enough guys," Eli replied. "And you're not my type." Bianca glared bitterly, but Eli didn't apologize. He was right and she knew it. There was no telling where her mouth had been. That thought alone was enough to make him want to gag.

"No stupid. Show me what it's like to be with a guy, _without _anything sexual." Eli searched her brown eyes for any hint of deceit. Maybe she had changed. After all, Bianca was not the type to beat round the bush. If she wanted someone, she'd go after them full force. She had no problem stealing Drew from Alli. What would stop her from trying something on Eli while he was with Clare?

He wanted to say no. He wanted to turn around and walk away, and just leave Bianca behind while he waited for Clare. He could've hopped into Morty and never looked back. But _no_. He had to stay. He had to have faith that he was doing this to help her. He had to let Clare's good will rub of on him and give him hope that people, even despicable people like Bianca, could change for the better.

"Fine," Eli replied. He cursed under his breath as Bianca grinned. It was obvious that he was weak. Being with Bianca had dangerous side effects. "So... Are you asking for a friendship?" Bianca stared Eli up and down. She looked as though she hadn't thought that through and was puzzling it over now.

"I guess I've done worse," she said. Eli snorted as he leaned against Morty. It must've been in Bianca's nature to be snarky. She seemed to do so without even trying. The sixteen year old boy turned on his heel and opened the door to his hearse, motioning for Bianca to get in. She didn't and instead she eyed the car wearily.

"Well?" Eli asked in a mock impatient voice.

"Where in the hell are we going?" Bianca demanded. Her arms were crossed to emphasize her irritation.

"Just get in the car," Eli said. "Friends trust each other." He wore his smirk as the brunette rolled her eyes as she entered his hearse. If they were going to be friends, they were going to do it on Eli's terms. Bianca still looked irritated but she kept her comments to herself.

"Well, drive emo boy," she commanded. Eli let out a small laugh.

"Sure thing, buddy."

* * *

"Clare was it really that bad?" Eli asked with a laugh. Clare groaned as she held her face in hands. After she finished tutoring Drew that afternoon she had developed a slight headache. She gave Eli a full description on how tutoring went as they sat at the Dot. Instead of making her relaxed, she started stressing more. It didn't click in Clare's head until after she left the library that tutoring Drew would be an everyday occurrence until finals were over.

"Oh goodness Eli," Clare droned as she rubbed her temples. "I don't understand how his mind works!"

"I don't think you want to," the Goth boy smirked. Clare huffed loudly to make her point as she sipped her hot chocolate gingerly. The cold winter air made her crave the beverage like there was no tomorrow. Eli knew that and made certain to order Clare her favorite drink with mini marsh mellows in it just to tickle her fancy. She appreciated all the things he did for her, especially the little things. He was far too sweet.

"I just can't wait until midterms are over," Clare said absentmindedly. Eli's laughter cut through the air, filling Clare's ears.

"You mean you don't want to hang around the hottest guy in school? I thought you had a thing for jocks," he said, a mischievous glint in his eyes. Clare looked at him indignantly. She knew he was poking fun at her old crush on KC and couldn't believe he would do such a thing. She was just a freshman back then, could he really blame her?

"God Eli, sometimes you're just so..." Eli took Clare's hand before she could finish her sentence. He kissed her fingertips with a sultry smile, nibbling gently. Clare felt her cheeks grow hotter. It was obvious that they were darkening in color. She had no words to say.

But then again, that was a side effect of being with Eli.

**I won't be able to update as fast anymore but please review!**


	4. Let The Lying Begin

**A/N: **I've finally gotten around to typing up an update for this! I hope you enjoy and please review! The last chapter only got 2 reviews so please keep sending them! By the way, the chapters are getting progressively longer, so more things can happen quicker!

* * *

"Hey Clare!" A voice called as the brunette girl got book from her locker. She looked over her shoulder and realized the person calling her was none other than Drew Torres. She looked to make sure Alli wasn't around to see Clare talking to Drew of all people. Luckily, Alli was nowhere in sight and Clare could talk to him in peace. She could only imagine Alli's reaction if she saw the two of them at that moment.

"Drew? Did Adam tell you where to find my locker?" she asked as she entered her locker combination. Drew nodded silently. Clare gave a soft chuckle. It was actually kind of cute how close Drew and Adam were, considering the way the told each other basically everything. It was strange to hear herself think things like that. A few days ago she wouldn't have ever thought that "cute" and "Drew" could ever be in the same sentence. It was weird how different he was now that she had spent time with Drew alone. He wasn't the one dimensional jock she had always pictured him as, and she was more than glad he proved her past thoughts about him wrong.

"So next week Thursday is my next math quiz... And it's the last one before my final in two weeks," Drew stated.

"Okay, so what you need to do is go to your math teacher and ask for a study sheet. That way we'll be able to narrow down what you need to work on the most," Clare reasoned. Drew stared at Clare blankly. She was starting to get used to his stare. It seemed to be a habit of his whenever he didn't understand why someone had just said something odd.

"Um... my math teacher kind of hates me," Drew said. Clare looked up at the sixteen year old confused. She knew many of the girls that made up Degrassi's student body had a dislike for Drew after his hook up with Bianca, but a teacher? There was no way she could know about that. And even if she did she couldn't care.

"What did you do to make your teacher hate you? Throw a football through the classroom?" she asked with a smirk. Drew glared at her.

"Har-har. But seriously, I know Ms. Johnson and she's not going to give me a study sheet. She doesn't think I try hard enough and she's given up on me already," Drew stated. Clare smiled at Drew genuinely. She knew he was starting to get frustrated and her being upset wouldn't help the situation. She had to keep up a strong and stable facade to give Drew a sense security, even if it was a false one.

"Trust me, you showing some interest should be enough to reinstate her faith in you," Clare said. Drew couldn't help but laugh. The little brunette really was a marvel. She was so optimistic and bright. So innocent. He had to admit, it was kind of nice to have someone in the world that had faith in him, even if it was his ex-girlfriend's best friend. Just knowing that not everyone in the world thought he was a lost cause meant a lot to him.

"Well, it's worth a shot," he stated. Clare nodded happily, glad to see that he was finally starting to try to work with her. It meant one less headache for her.

"Good. I'll see you later," Clare said. She thought Drew was going to walk off, but instead, he stood watching her collect her things from her locker. She stopped moving and gave him an annoyed look. "What?"

"Put your number in my phone," Drew said as he handed Clare his black cell phone. Clare cocked an eyebrow at Drew. She swung her locker closed as she gave him her perplexed look. They had said everything they needed to say. He didn't need her number. So why was he asking for it?

"And why do you need my number?" she asked as she stuffed her binder into her book bag.

"I have to talk to my coach after school so I'll call you when I'm done. Besides, would you rather me call you, or have more of these awkward early morning conversations and sneak around like two jailbirds?" Clare chewed on her bottom lip as she fiddled with the cell phone in her hand. She hated the fact that Drew could make a pretty good argument when he wanted to.

"Alright," Clare said as she punched in her number. She saved her name and tossed Drew his phone, not wanting to hold on to it any longer. "I'll see you in the library later okay?"

"Sure," Drew said. He walked away quickly to avoid anyone seeing him talking to her. As Clare tried to scurry away from her locker, she felt an arm grab her unexpectedly. She groaned and turned.

"I said I'd meet you in the library Dr- Alli?" Clare shrieked. Alli had a glare plastered on her face. Clare could tell that she was in deep trouble with her best friend and that she'd need quite a few explanations. In her head, Clare cursed Drew's bad timing. If he hadn't demanded to talk to her while she was at her locker, Alli wouldn't have seen them. Granted, it was her fault too, but she still thought it was easier to not worry about whose fault it was. What mattered was why did Alli have to be the one to see them talking to each other?

"I just saw you talking to certain hideous creature and it looked like you were playing with his phone. Care to explain Clare?" Alli demanded as she placed her hands on her hips. Clare's eyes darted around. Where on Earth had Alli been that she and Drew didn't notice? And what was she planning on telling Alli?

"Oh that?" Clare asked with a laugh. She hoped it didn't sound as fake to Alli's ears as it did to hers. "It was nothing Alli."

"It looked like you were putting a number in his phone. Or, maybe it was just me seeing things," Alli said, acting as if she was calm, though Clare knew her well enough to tell that it was Alli's way of being irritated. She and Alli had been friends for too long for Clare not to know what Alli's mannerisms were.

"He accidentally deleted Adam's number and he asked me for it. Looks like your Neanderthal is too embarrassed to admit his mistakes to his younger brother," Clare lied. Alli still didn't seem satisfied.

"Oh yeah, sure, but uh why are you going to meet him in the library? You just said so yourself," Alli stated bitterly. Clare wanted to slap herself on the forehead. Of course Alli had to hear that! Clare knew she was in too deep with this one. She knew if she told Alli the truth she would over react.

"Well... Adam lost his phone so Eli, Drew and I are all going to look for it today, starting in the library. That's why Drew needed Adam's cell number, to call him and see if anyone answers."

"So, why isn't Adam helping look for his phone?" Alli asked. "It seems kinda rude to make you guys look for it while he does nothing." Clare exhaled deeply. She couldn't believe how easily the lies were coming or how well they working since Alli seemed to be buying it.

"Because Eli borrowed it and he lost it... Adam doesn't know yet so we're trying to find it ASAP before Adam notices it's gone. He would be so upset so we're trying to keep quiet about it for now." Alli sighed loudly. She still didn't seem happy but she dropped her hands from her hips. Clare knew that was a good sign.

"Well as long as you stop talking to Drew when you find Adam's phone, I don't see anything wrong with it. I just don't want you to become friends with him," Alli said. Clare was a bit afraid of how much venom her friend had in her voice, but she was glad that she was calming down. Clare grabbed Alli into a tight hold.

"Thanks for being understanding. Now can you please relax? It told you it was nothing," Clare stated with a slight laugh. Alli finally gave Clare an honest smile and linked arms with her best friend.

"You're right Clare. I do need to lighten up a little. Let's get to class and leave the past drama with... _him_ behind us." Clare smiled widely as the two walked off.

"That's the spirit."

* * *

"Eli, where were you after school yesterday?" Adam asked as he approached his best friend at his locker. Eli had neglected to tell anyone about him and Bianca hanging out with each other. Considering her reputation, Eli figured that it'd be better to keep quiet about it. The last thing he wanted was for Clare to get the idea that he was cheating on her. He could never do that to her and she didn't need to worry over something that would never happen. Eli trusted Adam, but considering what went down between Bianca and Adam after she outed him, he knew he'd have some bitter feeling left about her.

"I had to go grocery shopping. My parents were working late last night so make dinner for the three of us." Eli's reply was quick and fluid. The last thing he needed was for Adam to catch on.

"Oh alright... You wanna hang out today then?" Adam asked. Eli tried not to look at Adam as he dove into his locker. He had made plans to hang out with Bianca again after school. The two of them had stopped hating each other long enough to start to become friends. They both realized that they both loved the arcade and spent nearly three hours beating as many high scores as they could. Eli was pleasantly surprised that Bianca wasn't a complete bitch.

"Sorry Adam but I gotta get Morty checked out. He's been giving me a bunch of problems and the last thing I need is for Morty to give out on me," Eli replied. Adam looked disappointed but nodded.

"It's cool I guess," Adam mumbled. Eli winced. He hated lying to his best friend point blank like that. It only made him feel guiltier about it.

"Tomorrow I've got nothing to do. We can go looking for comic books together and then stuff ourselves with extra cheesy pizza, my treat," Eli offered. He had to make it up to Adam somehow and he knew his younger friend couldn't resist such a tempting offer. As if to prove Eli right, Adam's expression brightened almost instantly at the sound of Eli proposal. Eli was just Adam's perfect best friend.

"Dude, you're awesome," Adam said with a smile. The two did their signature handshake before Eli slammed his locker shut to get to his first period class.

"See you later bro," he said as he walked off. Eli sighed with relief. At least he avoided some drama for a while.

* * *

"So what do you want to go over today?" Clare asked as she took a seat in the library with Drew. He shrugged his shoulders slightly as he flipped through his math notebook. After Drew met with his coach, he called Clare, only 15 minutes after school ended. The pair was seated in the library where they had been the day before. The only difference was that Clare was much more willing to help Drew out than she had been the previous day.

"Well, we're doing this thing with triangles that I don't get," Drew said as he pointed to a problem in his book. "And what the hell is a negative angle?" Clare giggled as she looked it over.

"Well, did your teacher give you the study sheet?" Clare asked. Drew nodded happily, showing off his perfect white teeth. He took a minute to dig through his bag before he handed Clare a double sided sheet of paper. Clare smiled as well. It was great to see that she had been right about Drew's teacher, and it was even better that he was excited to study.

"Stuff like this," Drew said as he pointed to a collection of problems. "It makes no sense to me. Why is math so hard?" Clare laughed. Drew was unintentionally funny, she couldn't help it. She noticed that he was giving her an annoyed look, so she quickly composed herself and whispered a soft apology.

"You just need to put a lot of effort into it to get it," Clare said. "Let's do this problem together and we'll see what part you need help with." The two began working on a problem about angles and right triangles for a few minutes before Drew huffed and dropped his pencil.

"What's wrong?" Clare asked with wide eyes. Drew's dark brown eyebrows were furrowed; his lips were fixed into a frown.

"I don't get this crap," he complained. Clare took his paper and looked at his work in both confusion and shock. Everything was right, from beginning to end, with not one mistake. Every number was correct to the proper decimal, every formula was properly applied.

"But... you did it 100% right! How could you not get it?" she demanded. Drew silently bobbed his shoulders up and down.

"How should I know?" His baby blue eyes were wandering around the library. He was getting tired of sitting around doing math and Clare could almost feel his restlessness radiating off of him. He was far too antsy to sit around and just do work for too long. Drew was the kind of guy who had to get up and move around or else he'd lose his mind.

"Drew... You've been getting almost every problem right since yesterday... Are you sure you're bad at math?" Clare asked. Her voice hinted that she was teasing him, but Drew immediately snapped his head back to look at Clare as if she had insulted him.

"Maybe you're just a really good tutor... What, do I look like a nerd to you or something?" Drew demanded. Clare looked taken back by the older boy's reaction. She hadn't expected him to practically yell at her in the middle of a library for asking a simple question. A few nearby students turned to look in their direction. Clare could feel her cheeks becoming hotter with all the attention that was being on them. She hated being the center of attention. She had to take a deep breath to collect her thoughts in order to reason with Drew.

"Being good at school doesn't make you a nerd. I'm just asking because you seem to know what you're doing."

"Well I don't okay? I'm a football player. I play sports; it's what I'm _good_ at. Not all this stuff," Drew replied. Clare could see the all the emotion in Drew's eyes and tried to be calm. She had to get through to him, not fan the flames. She could tell this was a sore subject with him and she didn't want to push him too far.

"Maybe you're selling yourself short," Clare said. "You're great at math, but you tell yourself you're not, so you believe it." Drew scoffed at Clare's suggestion. Did she forget that he was Drew Torres? He wasn't good at school. He was a fit athlete, not some trigonometry whiz. The very notion was hilarious.

"Yeah, that's it," he replied sarcastically. "Oh yeah, and I'm totally screwing Jenna in my free time too."

"Drew I'm serious." There was a long pause. Clare's arms were folded across her chest. She only had nine days to help Drew before his next quiz and if he kept up his 'Too Cool for School' attitude, there would be no helping him. Drew finally sighed and gave up trying to be stubborn. Clare was only trying to help, and the least he could do was make her job easier by cooperating with her.

"Fine. So what are you trying to say?" he asked. Clare thought for a second before she spoke.

"I think you're stopping yourself from doing well at math, kind of like you're blocking your own potential. You're convincing yourself to doubt your own ability and it's screwing you up when you take tests," she explained simply. "I think you're creating a mind block for yourself."

"And by that you mean?" Drew prompted for Clare to continue. Clare rolled her eyes. Did she have to spell out _everything_ for him? He was so much like a small child. He needed to be told everything otherwise he probably wouldn't figure it out. He was giving Clare his all too famous blank stare as he waited for her response. Clare snickered. It was the slightest bit adorable how confused he was, even if Clare was getting annoyed at him.

"I think you have a natural talent that you're suppressing," she said. Drew laughed. So was she a genius _and_ a psychologist? Clare was just too smart for him.

"And what should we do about it?" Drew asked. Clare smirked as she stood up.

"I think I have an idea."

* * *

"So where are we going today?" Bianca asked as she hoped into Morty. Eli chuckled as he started up his hearse. He knew he'd have to take her somewhere no one they knew would find them, while not giving her the impression he wanted to get her alone. In all honesty, he knew of only one place to go to, and he wasn't sure if Bianca would really want to go there with him. Still, if she wanted to be his friend, she'd have to deal with it.

"You'll see," he replied as he swerved down the highway smoothly. Bianca groaned and crossed her arms. Eli knew he was irritating her but she'd get over it. She didn't have a choice. After nearly twenty minutes of driving, Eli finally parked in front of a tall building, though Bianca still didn't seem pleased.

"What is this place?" she asked as Eli took his key out of the ignition. He was wearing his all too famous smirk as he opened his door.

"It's a teen club," he replied. He slammed his door shut and motioned for her to do the same. Reluctantly, Bianca got out of Eli's hearse and walked around the car to walk beside him.

"You go clubbing?" she asked with a teasing smile. "Lemme guess, they only play techno and indie music here huh?"

"You know, I'm more of a metallica person myself, but I don't mind a little dance music here and there." He returned his teasing smile. "I just thought we'd go somewhere without a lot of depth. You know, somewhere you'd fit in."

"Oh, so you've got jokes, huh emo boy?" Bianca asked as she linked arms with Eli. He didn't protest as she did this, and instead figured he'd play along. It had been a while since he'd been just friends with a girl, he might as well enjoy it. Even if he had to sneak around to do it, it was fun, knowing that he didn't have to impress Bianca.

"I try," Eli replied as the pair walked into the teen club together. As they entered, the sound of music blasted in their ears, the beat of the bass was vibrating the walls. Bianca grinned. Eli couldn't have picked a more perfect place to take her. Dancing was what she did the best, and he had just brought her closer to her element. Almost instantly, Bianca began to swerve her hips to the beat, pulling Eli onto the dance floor with her.

"Come on," she said as she kept stepping to the rhythm of the music. "Dance with me!" Eli rolled his eyes and wiggled out of her grasp.

"I'm not much of a dancer in case you haven't noticed. I come here to play poker," he said as he gestured to a table off in a far corner, with a group of guys playing cards. Bianca smiled mischievously. Dancing and poker? Eli had brought her to the perfect place for her. She took a second to stop dancing to whisper in his ear.

"I'm up for a game of poker. In fact, if I win, you owe me a dance," Bianca said coyly. Eli laughed as he eyed her. Bianca was so confident in herself. He didn't know many girls who had that much confidence in themselves. Bianca was different, he'd give her that.

"Oh yeah? What if I win?" he asked as he stared her down. Bianca didn't seem to flinch as she replied.

"I don't think we'll have to worry about that." Before Eli could argue back, Bianca pulled him by his arm and led him to the back of the club.

* * *

"Um, Clare... Where the hell are we?" Drew asked as he looked around. Clare had dragged him somewhere he was quite sure he had seen before and he had not the slightest clue why she had brought him there. As he looked around, he noticed that they were in a park not too far from a local church. Had she brought him there to pray or something? What did that have to do with tutoring him?

"My sister Darcy used to take me here all the time and we'd tell each other whatever was on our minds. Afterwards, we'd feel better and it wouldn't bother us anymore. Maybe if you tell me what's on your mind, you'll stop thinking about it and you'll be able to focus on math," Clare explained. Drew scoffed at the idea.

"Do you really think that'll work? I don't have that much I need to talk about," he said. Clare sat down in the grass and patted a spot next to her, motioning for Drew to sit beside her. He debated whether or not it would be worth it to go along with Clare's somewhat silly notions, but what did he have to lose? Drew sat beside Clare and exhaled deeply. This was weird to say the least, but maybe she knew what she was doing.

"So just tell me anything that bothers you," Clare prompted. Drew thought for a second before he shrugged.

"I dunno, it kinda bothers me that I suck at math," he replied uncertainly. Clare nodded her head.

"Okay, and were you always bad at math, or did you just stop keeping up with the material after a while?" she asked. The blue eyed boy looked up at the sky as if it held the answer in the midst of the clouds. He was smiling slightly as he stared upward. Silence drifted over them as Drew thought to himself. Clare waited for what felt like forever until Drew finally decided to answer.

"I got that way, after a while. There was a time when I was good at it but, then I... I had a change of priorities," Drew stated. Clare could hear the unevenness in his voice as he spoke. Curiously, she decided to ask another question in hopes of finding out more information.

"And when was that?" Drew's body became stiff, his mouth pressed into a thin line. He licked his lips as he looked around the park. Clare knew he had the answer to the question but he was deciding whether or not to tell her the truth. She waited in anticipation. She couldn't pressure him into talking so she had to hope he would give her an honest answer on his own.

"I-I was 11. It was right after my parents got divorced," he whispered. His voice was barely audible, and Clare knew he was getting more and more uncomfortable with the conversation. But if he wanted to get anywhere in math, they needed to get to the root of his problem. And judging by his change in mood, she had a feeling the problem was something pretty serious.

"Do you know why they got divorced?"

"It doesn't matter," Drew snapped. Clare was silent after his rude response. She had gone too far and now he didn't want to talk about it. That meant that whatever happened during the time of his parents' divorce must've taken a toll on him, and he hadn't gotten over it after all these years.

"Drew, my parents just got divorced too," Clare said. "I understand how it feels. You don't have to be afraid to talk to me about-"

"Afraid?" Drew laughed, though it wasn't his usual haughty laugh. He sounded almost enraged, hurt, and insane all at once. "Real men aren't afraid of anything. Especially not their stupid feelings."

"Drew please..."

"No Clare, we're done here. I'm going home. I'll see you tomorrow." With that, Drew grabbed his bag and walked off, leaving Clare to wonder what had just happened.


	5. Loophole

**A/N: **Hope you like this chapter! A special shout out to the **7** people who have this on their favorites and the **17** who have this alerts list! As a side note, the song is not a real song, it's a poem I wrote. As another side note, I realized that no one really goes to The Dot anymore because they all go to Little Miss Steaks now but I like The Dot better. Okay, rant over. Enjoy!

* * *

"Drew what's wrong?" Adam asked as his older brother stormed into the house and threw his book bag off to the side. He was running a hand through his dark brown hair as he cursed under his breath. What just happened? And why did it bother Drew so much? One second he was calmly telling Clare what was on his mind then, it was like something just snapped. He couldn't handle thinking about all those memories he had spent years trying to erase. No one knew what happened that day, not even Adam. How could Clare think she could help him get over... no, he couldn't even think about that.

"Rough day," Drew said as ran upstairs to his room. He locked his door as soon as he got inside and starting blasting his favorite songs. He had to shake off this feeling. He had to get rid of that horrible memory. Before Drew could relax, he could hear someone banging on his door.

"Drew let me in!" Adam shouted from the other side of the door. Drew was tempted to pretend that he didn't hear his younger step brother, but Adam's banging only persisted. Annoyed, Drew got up from his bed and opened his door, looking at Adam with irritation.

"What?" he demanded.

"You gonna tell me what this is about?" Adam asked as he tried to make his way into Drew's room. Drew cut Adam off in the process, only leaving the door open wide enough so they could each other's faces.

"Clare. She thinks she's entitled to know stuff about me. She tried getting me to talk about what happened... With my mom's divorce before she married your dad."

"Ouch," Adam said, knowing that the divorce was a very tender topic for Drew, though he never really understood why. He could never get Drew to explain why he was so secretive about it, but he figured it wasn't the most important thing to know about his older brother. And seeing the way Drew reacted when Clare tried to find out about it, Adam wasn't sure he ever wanted to know if it made his brother act like that.

"She thinks... if I talk about it, I might stop worrying and I can focus on math or something like that... But it's hard. I never had to deal with it before and she's just trying to get in my head," Drew explained. Adam nodded to show that he was listening, and he took a second to think before giving Drew some much needed advice.

"You know, there's probably no one at Degrassi with better intentions than Clare Edwards. If she thinks that talking about this stuff will help you, the least you can do is give it a shot. I mean, she's not a gossip or anything. At least talk to her tomorrow and explain it to her the way you did to me. You owe her that much," Adam said. Drew nodded and the two brothers bumped fists before he closed his bedroom door again. As Drew laid back down on his bed, he stared up at the ceiling and thought to himself. He always screwed things up with the people he was close to. Alli was proof of that. Why should he let Clare close to him if he knew he was just going to hurt her somehow? Still, Adam was right. He owed Clare an explanation for abandoning her like that. Drew lowered his stereo and grabbed his phone, dialing Clare's number.

"Hello?" she answered. She sounded confused, though it was to be expected considering how he had just yelled at her and walked away out of the blue.

"Hi Clare," Drew said as he stared pacing his room. "Look, I'm sorry for losing it like that, I just wasn't really thinking straight."

"No, I shouldn't have tried to get you to tell me all those things. It's personal and we don't really know each other that well. It was my fault, not yours," she replied. Drew felt horrible. Clare sounded defeated and heartbroken. It was terrible for Drew to think that he had done that to her.

"Well, you were right..." Drew said. He held his breath for a second as if it would help him read Clare's mind. When she didn't say a word, he decided he needed to continue speaking to avoid a long silence. "Maybe we can try again... You know, talking about my parents and everything. But not all at once... maybe a little bit at a time..."

"If you're okay with it, I'm willing to listen anytime," Clare said eagerly. Her voice sounded much warmer now than it did before. Drew smiled. It was good to know that Clare was so understanding.

"Yeah? Do you have plans for tonight?" he asked. It was meant to sound casual, but for some reason, Drew felt as though his voice had a certain urgency to it that he hadn't originally intended. He could hear Clare giggle through the receiver. Apparently she noticed it too.

"Eli and I were supposed to go out tonight but he cancelled right before you called. You're not stalking me, are you Drew?" she asked. Her voice flowed perfectly as she poked fun at the jock. He knew Clare was feeling much better than when he first called her. Teasing was a tell tale sign that she was in a good mood. He decided to play along to keep her laughing. He was starting to like the sound of her laugh.

"Jeez, don't you see me sitting in the tree right next to your window?" he asked with a witty smile.

"Careful Drew, you're no Edward Cullen," Clare said. Her voice was playfully sweet. Drew's smile only continued to widen. He liked the way he and Clare could go back and forth in a conversation and he wanted to keep it going.

"Dammit Clare. I don't have to be a vampire to get your attention, do I?" Drew asked. Clare was silent for a second. He knew he had stumped her, even if it was just for a moment. It was nice having that kind of power over her.

"Well you have my full attention right now, don't you?" Clare retorted.

"You've got a point... While I have your attention, when do you want to meet up?" he asked in his most charming voice. He only did this when he asked out girls, but he figured it was the same thing as meeting up with Clare. Or at least it was the same concept.

"How does 7 at The Dot sound to you?" Clare asked. Drew smirked.

"Great. You want me to pick you up? It's the least I can do, considering you're doing this for me." Drew waited for Clare's reply, which came without hesitation.

"Sure!" She gave Drew her address which happened to be about 20 minutes walking distance from his house, and 10 minutes by car. After he promised to pick her up, both teens said goodbye and hung up their phones. With a smile on his face, Drew turned his head to look at the clock in his room. It was a quarter after six already, meaning he had to leave in a half hour if he wanted to pick up Clare on time. After talking a quick shower Drew put on a plain t-shirt and his football jacket, along with a baggy pair of jeans and his favorite sneakers. It was almost time for him to leave so he grabbed his wallet and fixed his hair in his bedroom mirror before running downstairs.

"Where are you going dude? Got a hot date tonight?" Adam asked with a smirk. He knew how Drew acted when he was going to hang out with a girl and it was painfully obvious that Drew was in a rush to meet up with her. Not to mention that he also seemed excited to see her.

"I'm going out with Clare," Drew replied as he grabbed his car keys. "I'll be back by nine." Adam's eyes widened instantly. He choked on the soda he was chugging and looked at Drew as if he were insane. Clare was dating Eli, how could Drew possibly be going out with her?

"What the hell? She's kinda taken bro."

"Not like that dumb ass. Crap, I'm gonna be late. I'll explain later okay? See ya." With that, Drew was gone. As he hopped into his car, he put on the radio so he could hum along to the music to pass the time. After what felt like forever, he pulled up to the address Clare had given him. Drew pulled out his phone and was about to dial her number, but before he could, Clare came strolling out of her house. She was wearing a gray oversized sweater with a black heart on it that matched her black jeans and ballet flats. Her short pixie like hair was curly as ever and her blue eyes stood out, even without make up on. When Clare finally got to Drew's car, she slid gracefully into the passenger seat and pulled her seat belt on.

"I saw you pull up through my kitchen window," she said. "Let's go."

"Alright," he replied as he drove away from her home. The drive was silent for awhile before Drew spoke up. "You can change the station if you want." He didn't look at Clare but he had a feeling she was daydreaming in her seat. At that moment a duet came and Clare seemed to perk up.

"No, I like this song."

"Really?" Drew asked. He was laughing both at the surprise he felt and at his own stupidity. He always pictured Clare as only listening to religious worship songs at church, not really R & B love songs. She was so much more than the Jesus worshiper everyone depicted her to be. Clare was smiling at Drew and as the music started, she began singing the lyrics to the song.

"_I can't tell you exactly what I did to get me where I am today, but I know I wouldn't have it any other way. I try to leave but I know I wanna stay, I should hate you by now, but you take my breath away._" Clare hit each note perfectly and Drew grinned. He had no idea she was a good singer. Shaking off his thoughts, Drew began singing the next verse as the male singer's voice blasted through his speakers.

"_You get me high, you're like a drug, I can't even think when I'm with you, I'm just so in love. I lose my mind, I can stop time, It's like I'm on top of the world,_" Drew sneaked a peak at Clare and she was still beaming at him.

"I didn't know you could sing," Clare said. She seemed genuinely impressed and glad to find out that information. Drew chuckled softly. He had pictured their ride to The Dot as being horribly awkward but instead he was actually having fun. Having fun with Clare Edwards. It was a bit strange but then again, he went to Degrassi. Stranger things had happened.

"I could say the same for you." The chorus was approaching, and both the male and female singer's voice started to blend perfectly. Both Drew and Clare looked at each other before their two voices meshed together in harmony as well, belting out the chorus.

"_I can't stand a single thing you do, but I die inside whenever I'm not with you. I'm tired now, babe I've had enough, I've lost my mind but baby, maybe this is love. Maybe this is love._" Their voices filled the car and soon their singing was replaced with laughter.

"I didn't know you liked romantic songs like this," Clare said. Drew shrugged.

"Alli and I listened to it all the time. It was our song for a while," he explained.

"Oh." Clare replied. She was silent for a moment. Would asking another question get him mad at her again? Slowly, she decided to push forward and she cautiously asked her next question. "Do you still have feelings for Alli?"

"Honestly? No."

"No?"

"No," Drew said. "I don't think I ever had feelings for her."

"What?" Clare asked with wide eyes. "But you were crazy about her and you tried so hard to win her over!"

"Yeah, because I was attracted to her. Don't get me wrong, she's gorgeous and she's gonna make some lucky guy really happy. But the thing is, we aren't compatible. I wasn't smart enough to keep up with her. I tried to fake it but we were too different to really work, you know?" Drew said as he gave Clare a quick glance.

"KC and I had the same problem when we dated last year. We weren't on the same page and he started flirting with Jenna while we were still together," Clare said. The memory of what her ex did before their break up didn't make her wince like it used to. It was good to finally move on.

"I'd like to say that was a douche bag move but... I don't think that would mean much coming from me," Drew said in a joking tone. Clare smiled and gave a small laugh as Drew finally pulled up in front of The Dot. The two got out and Clare immediately ran up to the older boy. It was freezing outside and Clare's small body was shivering against Drew's much taller and muscular frame. Realizing that she didn't have a jacket, Drew took off his and put it around her shoulders.

"Let's hurry up and get inside," he said as they walked into the cafe. She looked at him gratefully and the two walked in and sat down. The Dot wasn't crowded so the pair basically had the place all to themselves. Clare counted it as a blessing that so many people loved going to Little Miss Steaks nowadays since she could finally have real conversations at The Dot without fears of being overheard.

"You didn't have to give me your jacket," Clare said as she handed Drew his jacket. He denied her and handed it back to her.

"You'll get sick. I can handle the cold better than you. You can give it back to me tomorrow," he said. Clare's smile was warm. It made Drew smile back. He wanted to believe that he was only offering her his jacket to be friendly, but he knew there was nothing more cliché than offering a girl his jacket. Nothing was said until Peter came to their table and smiled at Clare, taking the two high schoolers orders.

"Hey Baby Edwards. I thought you were dating that dark kid," Peter teased as he pointed a thumb at Drew, who clearly wasn't anything like Eli.

"I am. I'm just tutoring Drew for a bit but we're taking a break from studying," Clare said. "Any particular reason you seem so over the moon today?" Peter bounced up and down excitedly. One of the things Clare loved about Peter was how lively he was.

"Darcy and I have been talking a lot lately and we both decided to get back together. Tomorrow morning I'm heading over toKenyafor a month and I'm so stoked to be with her again," Peter replied. Clare gasped in shock.

"That's great Peter! I know she's been missing you a lot," the small fifteen year old stated. Peter's grin only widened.

"I've missed her too and it'll be great to see her again. So what'll it be guys?" he asked.

"Just coffee for me," Drew said.

"I'll have my usual," Clare answered.

"Sure thing," Peter said as he walked off. Clare watched him until he was out of earshot before she turned to face Drew again.

"So I guess you can start telling me anything you want," she said. "He probably won't be back for another few minutes." Drew was staring at the table to avoid eye contact with Clare. The silence between them was building. Drew wasn't really sure were to start. His parent's divorce was really complicated, and there was so much he couldn't even think about without feeling sick to his stomach. Still, he told Clare that he'd tell her what was bothering him so he had to man up and keep his promise, even if he told her just a small portion at a time.

"I met Adam when I was like four or something," Drew began. "Back when he was three and we still called him Gracie. We were best friends since day one. He was always one of the guys to me, even back then. My dad- my biological dad, not Omar- He thought it was weird."

"Weird?" Clare repeated. "What do mean?"

"He thought it was weird I liked hanging around a girl so much. He teased me about it sometimes," Drew laughed, but it sounded dry and empty. "He thought it was strange that his only son would rather play dress up than roll around in mud."

"So Adam didn't always act like a guy?" Clare asked.

"No, he did. He gave Omar one hell of a time growing up. Adam's real mom died in a car crash before he turned one, so Omar was trying to figure out how to raise a daughter on his own. It must've been hard considering Adam hated wearing skirts and dresses," Drew said. He was smiling at the memory of it. He didn't mind telling Clare this stuff.

"So Adam didn't get to grow up with his mom. I never knew..." Clare said.

"He doesn't really like talking about it since he never really got to know her," Drew stated. He silenced himself as Peter came back and handed the two their drinks. The blonde was a bit suspicious of Clare and Drew, who were staring at him and waiting for him to leave. Peter snickered, knowing that he wasn't wanted.

"Don't stop on my account," Peter grinned and walked away, leaving Clare and Drew alone again. Clare gave the boy across from her an apologetic look. He wanted to tell her that it didn't matter, but he was distracted for a second. Her eyes were such a pretty shade of blue; he had never noticed that before.

"Sorry about Peter's timing," she whispered. "You can continue if you want."

"It's fine..." Drew replied. He took a second to collect his thoughts, and then he continued from where he had left off. "Well, Adam had to grow up for Gracie for years. He didn't make the switch until he was 12. My mom and Omar were close friends since college so she was like Adam's fake mom since his mom's death. She tried to get Adam to stay Gracie, but she eventually realized he was happier being Adam than not." He paused so he could drink some of his coffee. Clare was listening intently as she sipped her hot chocolate. She seemed so interested in the story. Her eyes were begging Drew to keep going, so her rested his coffee down and waited for whatever question she had.

"So what about your real dad? What did he think about Adam going through with transitioning?" Clare inquired.

"Adam made the switch two years after my parents divorced. My dad wasn't in the picture then," Drew answered.

"Well, what does he think about it now?" she asked. "Is he supportive at least?" Drew stopped looking at Clare. She could tell she was starting to get really personal with Drew as he seemed reluctant to answer. Thinking quickly, she flashed him a smile. "You told me a lot already. I think we should just leave it at that for today." Drew returned Clare's smile.

"Thanks," he said. "I actually like talking about it. It's like, getting all this stuff out there makes me feel better." Clare giggled.

"How cute!" she joked. "You're getting in touch with your feelings!" Drew rolled his eyes and smiled, curious how she's react if he tried a bold comment.

"Damn right I'm cute, but how would your boyfriend feel if he knew you felt that way?" he stated with an arrogant grin. Clare scoffed at the idea though Drew noticed she was blushing just a slightest bit.

"Oh yeah? I'm sure you're just dying to steal me away from Eli aren't you?" Clare shot back. Drew cocked an eyebrow at Clare as he took another swig of his coffee.

"Trust me Clare, if I wanted to steal you away from Eli, you'd already be hooking up with me in the back of my car," he replied with a smirk. Clare rolled her eyes as he laughed. She couldn't understand how somebody could be so self absorbed and yet, so unsure of themselves at the same time.

"Does my abstinence ring mean nothing to you?" she asked as she flashed her purity ring to him. He took her hand in his and he read the inscription on it.

"'Real love waits'... Guess that means you and Eli aren't really in love if you're still waiting for your love to come around," Drew said. Clare knew he only saying things to get under her skin, but he was awfully good at it. She pulled her hand back and drank more of her hot chocolate. It was hard for her to win arguments against Drew for some reason and he was enjoying that ability.

"I tried to sleep with him before... He said no." Drew nearly chocked on his coffee. He did his best to compose himself and stared at Clare with confusion. She wasn't the perfectly pure angel he thought she was! And how on Earth could Eli have told her no? Clare wasn't unattractive at all. Drew took a quick second to survey Clare. She had a cute face and her body was nicely curved. She wasn't flat chested and she dressed well enough to compliment her body while still leaving a lot to the imagination.

"Seriously?" Drew asked. "Why would he say no?"

"He had a really bad break up with his ex-girlfriend and he didn't think I was ready to... So here we are. Though using your logic I guess you've been in love about a dozen times," Clare said with a sly look. Drew smiled.

"Okay so maybe I don't know what love is... You could say my dad kinda influenced the way I am," he said. Clare looked confused, but before she could speak, Drew continued. "It's a story for another day. I think it's about time I get you home," Drew said as he stood up. Clare still had a million more questions but she put on Drew's jacket and followed him. After they paid for their drinks, the two ran to Drew's car and he sped away from The Dot.

"I'm glad you trust me enough to tell me about these things," Clare said. Drew looked at her quickly then turned his attention back to the road.

"Well... if you think it'll somehow help me discover why I connect my parents' divorce to my horrible math grade, what have I got to lose?" Drew replied as Clare beamed at him happily. The rest of the car ride was silent except for the music playing in the background. When Drew finally pulled up to Clare's house, instead of getting out of his car, she turned to face him. The only light was from the reflection of the full moon. Her eyes were still as pretty as ever Drew noticed. Her expression was a serious one, and she gave Drew's hand a small squeeze.

"Thank you. For trusting me, for giving me your jacket, for giving me a chance to help you. I promise I won't tell a soul." Her smile was genuine and sweet, despite the fact that it was only a small smile. Drew knew she was being completely honest, though he was unsure how to really say what he was thinking.

"Yeah. Thank you too," he said quietly. Clare let go off his hand and left his car without another word. He waited until she was safely inside before he drove back to his house. It was a lot less fun without Clare with him. When he finally got back home, Adam was still waiting for him reading a comic. He looked up at his brother annoyed before he put down the comic he was reading to talk to him.

"So Drew, wanna explain to me what that was about?" Adam asked. Drew shrugged his shoulders casually as he walked to the kitchen to grab some leftover pizza from the fridge.

"Well I took _your_ advice and talked to Clare. Sorry, I didn't ask for permission mom," Drew stated as he bite into the cold pizza. "Do we have any soda?"

"I don't know?" Adam replied as he got up from where he was sitting. "Can you focus for a second? You can't be hitting on Clare while she has a boyfriend dude. He's my best friend." Drew laughed as he went through the kitchen cabinets searching for a can of soda.

"Yeah. Me and Clare. _Right_. She's not my type," Drew said as he gave up on looking for soda and poured himself a glass of juice. Adam rolled his eyes as he tried to get Drew to stop moving and focus on him.

"She's a girl. She's automatically your type," Adam argued. Drew took of his shirt and threw it at Adam if only to get him to leave him alone for a moment.

"Shut up okay? I'm not into her like that," the older boy said. "Why won't you drop it already?" Adam laughed in disbelief. He knew Drew too well. In fact he knew Drew better than Drew knew himself. Adam didn't want to have to spell it out for his brother, but he asked for it.

"Maybe because one, you don't know what the term 'just friends' means, two, you keep hanging around her alone, and three, you left with a jacket and came back without one, meaning you gave it to her to wear. You give every girl you like your stupid jacket," Adam stated. Drew muttered a few curses as Adam smiled smugly.

"So she was cold. Shoot me then," Drew said as he walked out of the kitchen. Adam followed closely behind as Drew sat down on the couch.

"Drew, can't you just leave one girl alone, please?" Adam begged. Drew ignored his younger brother. He didn't like Clare, so what was the problem? Drew didn't get to enjoy the silence for long as Adam started talking again. "If you don't like her, then tell me honestly you haven't even thought of her in a sexual way." Drew was silent. He had joked about hooking up with her not to mention he thought Eli was an idiot for not sleeping with Clare... Adam had him there. Despite his womanizing ways, Drew wasn't one to make jokes like that unless he was genuinely interested in the girl, whether it was sexually or romantically.

"Okay like, two minor things. So what?" Drew demanded as he ate his pizza. "It's not like I'm holding her down trying to rip her clothes off." Adam laughed as he walked upstairs to bed.

"Not yet Drew but trust me, you'll get there."

* * *

"So do you get?" Clare asked with a smile. They were seated right next to each other in the library, and Drew realized that thinking about romance and math at the same time wasn't the simplest of tasks. Sure, she was cute in an adorable kind of way, and well, he wouldn't mind hooking up with her. But girlfriend material? No way.

"Oh, uh, yeah," Drew said. He was tripping over his words and he hoped Clare wouldn't notice, but she did.

"You don't get it do you?" she asked with a knowing look. "Maybe we should take a break, hm?"

"No I do... It's just..." he paused. Drew was sure he didn't like Clare, but he didn't want to creep her out. Though, it didn't really matter. He felt like he needed to tell someone about what Adam had suggested, and who better than Clare herself? "Adam and I were talking yesterday after I got home, and he's got this idea that I like you."

"Oh... Well I guess he would assume that, based on all the time we spend together. Unless you said something that influenced his theory..." Clare suggested.

"No way! I'm just as confused as you are here," Drew said defensively. He held up his hands to emphasize his point. The blue eyed girl shook her head with a smile.

"Well, you don't have the best track record," she said, hinting at his relationship with Alli that was ruined when he let Bianca take him to the boiler room. Drew looked aggravated, but his playful smirk quickly erased his angered expression. Tauntingly, he leaned closer to Clare and looked in her eyes. She looked so innocent and confused as Drew's face came closer to hers. Her cheeks were turning a rosy color, but before she could speak, Drew was already whispering in a low, hypnotic voice.

"If I liked you Clare, you'd know," he said.

"Oh really? How would I?" Clare asked. "I think I have a right to know what signs should send a red flag in my head."

"Well, I'd probably always want to be near you," Drew said as he slowly moved even closer to Clare to the point where their faces were only inches apart. "I'd probably always think about you too. Think about all the things I'd want to do to you the second I could get you alone." Drew smiled as Clare turned an even darker shade of red. He moved so that he could whisper in her ear, made easier by the fact that Clare willingly kept still. "I'd always tell you how damn good you look everyday," his hand reached for her shoulder, and he made small circle with his thumb. "And I really wouldn't be able to keep my hands off you..."

"Is that so?" Clare asked. Her voice was somewhat shaky and she tried to feign confidence. Drew could see right through her facade, though he allowed her to continue. "And should I take this as a sign that you like me?" She referenced the way his hand moved affectionately up and down her arm. The contact was simple, yet it somehow sent chills down her spine with every gentle stroke.

"Maybe it is Clare," Drew replied. His smile was blinding as he silently teased Clare with his eyes. Their gazes were locked and he knew he had all the control for that moment in time. She wanted to pull away but he had her stuck in a trance. His words cut through the air, each one smoother than the last. But as if he liked making her think, he then asked a taunting question. "But isn't it a lot more fun being in the dark?" Clare was in shock. She wanted to move away from Drew, she knew it was bad letting him get so close to her, but she was frozen. She could see why girls were always falling for him, his essence was incredibly irresistible.

"We... we should get back to work," Clare mumbled when she finally summoned the strength to look away. Her nose was buried in her work and Drew's lips couldn't help but turn upward into a grin. He didn't like Clare...

But he never said he didn't like flirting with her.

**Cliffhanger! Leave a review!**


	6. Right And Wrong

**A/N: **Keep those reviews coming guys they mean a lot to me! These next chapters are going to start to bring in a lot more romance and drama so get ready for that! And here's some more Eli/Bianca since the last chapter didn't have any. I do like Bianca... just not with Drew. R&R!

* * *

Clare wasn't a big fan of Thursday mornings. To her it was just a reminder of how far away Friday was and how much studying she had to get done over the weekend. Not to mention most of her energy had been drained since the week was almost over. But this Thursday was different than the rest. Eli was coming to drive her to school today and she couldn't wait. Between tutoring Drew and trying to help him deal with his past, not to mention his obvious flirting from the day before, Clare needed some time away from him. It was weird how her life was starting to revolve around him.

As she dragged her tired body out of bed, she reached for phone. When it turned on, it started beeping to inform her that she had two new messages. The first was from Eli, and her face lit up as soon as she read it. _Morning Clare. See you in a bit... I bought breakfast for you :) _Clare sighed lovingly, knowing that Eli would bring her something she loved. The second message however threw her off. Her phone said it was from Drew. Clare opened it and waited curiously for the message to pop up on her screen. _Clare, bring your gym clothes today and meet me in the gym after school OK?_

"Well that's a bit odd..." Clare mumbled, but she decided she'd go along with it. She took a shower a got dressed in the school uniform, then happily skipped downstairs and greeted her parents, who were both eating breakfast on different sides of the kitchen. They were on speaking terms again but they kept up a very polite front as if they were mere acquaintances. In Clare's opinion, it was much better than hearing them argue over every little thing.

"Good morning sweetie," her mother said as her youngest daughter came downstairs. "Are you going to have breakfast with us today?"

"No thanks mom. I want to get to school early today and Eli's giving me a ride," Clare replied as she slung her book bag on her back. "How's your apartment coming along?"

"Just fine Clare-Bear," her father stated. "In fact as soon as your mother and I finish it up, you should come over. Maybe bring that, uh, boyfriend of yours over for dinner again." Clare tried not to giggle. Her mother was a lot more comfortable with her dating Eli than her father was and it was clear to her that he was trying to be more understanding.

"That sounds great," Clare replied as she walked to the front door. "Bye mom, bye dad. I'll see you tonight!" With that, Clare left her house and practically sprinted to Eli's car which was parked right outside her driveway.

"Good morning," he said with his smirk on his face. "You seem happy today."

"It just seems like all the drama in my life is coming to an end." Clare smiled as she gave kissed Eli on the cheek. "So did you buy me breakfast already?" she asked eagerly. Eli smiled as he pointed to the two bags of food sitting on his dashboard. He grabbed one and handed it to Clare. She accepted it gratefully, but when she peered inside the bag she frowned. Why would Eli buy her ice coffee and a sausage breakfast burrito? She wasn't a big fan of either of those things and neither was he.

"What's wrong?" Eli asked when he noticed Clare's expression.

"Looks like they got your order messed up," she said as she showed him the contents of her paper bag. Eli's green eyes widened slightly. After he and Bianca had gone clubbing they had been IMing non-stop. While he had spent the day before reading comics with Adam, he still managed to send Bianca a text or two when his friend wasn't looking. They made plans to meet up before class and she asked him to bring her some breakfast. She mentioned that she liked those things so he ate breakfast at home and went out to buy food for Clare and Bianca.

"No they didn't... The other bag is for you. I bought this for a friend," he stated. He hoped Clare would leave it at that, but he knew her far too well.

"For Adam?" she asked curiously. Eli began driving off and quickly thought of an answer she wouldn't be able to question.

"No, Fiona," Eli stated. Clare nodded. She knew Fiona to be a sweet and caring person, so Eli bringing her breakfast couldn't be questionable, though she did wonder when there friendship came to be. She couldn't recall her boyfriend ever speaking to Fiona during school hours. In fact, she couldn't remember Eli ever speaking about Fiona. Perhaps there were some things she didn't know about Eli. That was scary for her to think about. She was certain that they told each other everything but she didn't push the subject. After all she didn't tell Eli about Drew flirting with her in the library, or the fact that she couldn't help but swoon with every word he whispered. She felt a pang of guilt remembering how she sat frozen and hung on Drew's every word, forgetting about her loving boyfriend who had so much trust in her. Maybe it wasn't possible to be completely honest in a relationship after all.

The ride to school was pleasant as usual and the couple joked and laughed the whole car ride to Degrassi. When they finally reached the school's parking lot, Eli gave Clare a kiss before she stepped out of his hearse.

"I'll see you tomorrow for a movie, right?" Clare asked in her sweetest voice. "I'd ask for dinner too, but I promised Alli I'd go over to her place afterwards."

"Wouldn't miss it for the world," Eli replied. His girlfriend smiled and walked into the school. Eli let out a sigh of relief and parked his car where he knew Bianca would be waiting for him. Just like he assumed, Bianca was standing by herself, with her hands on her hips. Eli took his key out of the ignition and grabbed her food with a smile.

"Hey E," she said as she reached for the paper bag. She started eating her breakfast burrito happily as he watched her silently. She didn't seem to care how she looked when she ate. Unlike Clare who frequently looked up while she took baby bites, Bianca didn't mind scarfing down her food heartily. Eli had to chuckle at the sight, but he made sure she didn't notice. Even though she didn't care what people thought of her he didn't want to seem as if he was mocking her.

"Morning to you too. Listen, my girlfriend is starting to get suspicious. So maybe can hang out somewhere on Saturday or something? She's gonna be busy tutoring that day so she won't be around." Bianca shrugged as she continued munching on her breakfast. It made no difference to her what they did together; she was just starting to enjoy his company. Especially considering the fact that she and Eli were only hanging out in a friendly way and for once she could just be happy with a guy who didn't want her for her body.

"Yeah totally," she said before she sipped some of her ice coffee. "I have a dance class until 2 but I'm free otherwise."

"Cool. You wanna just come over to my place and listen to music?" Eli suggested. He knew that his parents would be out from noon until 10 on Saturday, meaning that it would be the perfect day to have Bianca over. He could never ask her over to his house while his parents were home. Knowing them, they'd question why he was bringing some other girl home while he was dating Clare. Not to mention they would make sure to ask him about it in front of his innocent girlfriend. No way he could risk that.

"Hm... sure. Maybe I can bring over some of my own CDs and we can swap?" Bianca suggested.

"I'm not a big fan of Miley," Eli said. Bianca rolled her eyes and smiled, but it wasn't like her usual snarky smile. It was actually happy looking. For the first time since they'd met, Eli could actually consider her completely human.

"Shut up," she ordered in a joking manner as she finished her breakfast. He silently held up his hands in defense and did as he was told. As she finished the meal Eli had brought her, the pair walked up to the school's front steps together. The distance between them was slowly increasing as they walked to avoid drawing the attention of other people. They both agreed to keep their friendship under the radar, but Eli was starting to wonder if it was really necessary.

"You know, Clare is gonna be pretty pissed when she finds out about how much time I spend with you," he said to break the silence.

"She thinks you're cheating on her with me?" Bianca asked. It was to be expected. She was the girl who was never in a relationship because she was just the sideline girl. It was a lot more fun teasing guys that were taken than it was spending time with one guy who focused all his attention on her. Where was the chase? The challenge? The excitement? Just having one boyfriend that she'd eventually break-up with sounded pretty bland.

"No... But she probably thinks I'm cheating on her with Fiona."

* * *

"Drew, what's up?" a voice called. The dark haired boy turned to see that it was KC walking toward him with a grin. His arm was glued to Jenna's side and she had a cute smile on her face; the ultimate mark of a cheerleader. It made Drew stop and think about what happened to Jenna's spot on the Power Squad, considering she was less than three months from giving birth and he had heard from Chantay that competition season was just around the corner.

"KC!" Drew replied with a grin. "I haven't seen you in a while." Drew had skipped practice all week and as a result he had to go after school that day to practice by himself, while the rest of the team had the day off. The three began to walk to the cafeteria for lunch. Drew had been skipping out on sitting with them at lunch as well so that he could study in the library to get ahead with Clare. He never really got much done by himself, but it was nice to try and tell himself that he had done something.

"I know, you've been busy ditching practice," KC joked. "I guess you've found a new hottie, haven't you?" Drew swallowed hard and faked a laugh. Why did everyone assume that he was with a girl? He and Clare were just studying to help him pass. Was that a crime or something? It seemed to be.

"Oh hush KC," Jenna said as she pushed her boyfriend playfully.

"I'm serious babe! Remember when he and Alli started going out? He was only at like, half of our football practices." KC smirked at his older friend as they entered the cafeteria together and walked toward their usual table. "So when are we going to get to meet this mystery girl of yours?"

"I've been studying okay?" Drew stated. "I just really need to pass math."

"Really?" Jenna asked as she peered up at Drew. "Maybe Clare can help you. I know she's a great tutor." Drew felt as if his heart had stopped beating for a second at the sound of her name. Jesus, did everyone see right through him? He licked his lips and he tried to fake a smile, but KC noticed his friend's sudden discomfort.

"Drew, are you feeling okay? You look like you're about to puke," KC said in a worried tone. Drew nodded and looked away. Why did hearing Clare's name make him so nervous? He scanned the lunch room but she was no where to be found. He was making a mountain out of a mole hill.

"I'm probably just catching a cold or something," he quickly said as he got up to go grab lunch. Jenna and KC merely shrugged off his odd behavior and continued flirting at their table. As Drew stood on line he surveyed the options for lunch; sloppy Joe's, macaroni and cheese, and pizza that resembled cardboard. He decided he wasn't all that hungry after all and only grabbed a pear and a bottle of water to tide him over. Drew's stomach was still in knots thinking about Clare. His cute little math tutor, Clare Edwards. Even he had to admit she was adorable to look at.

"Damn," Drew mumbled to himself. He was doing everything he swore he would never do with Clare. He was thinking about her and he was beyond anxious to see her. Adam was right. Even if he didn't like Clare, that wouldn't stop him from thinking about how pretty she was or how kissable her lips looked when he was close to her. Or how much he liked making her laugh... when she wasn't talking about his problems or when she wasn't with her boyfriend she loved...

"I'm so screwed," he concluded.

* * *

"Drew... Drew, are you here?" Clare asked as she wandered around the gym. It was empty due to the basketball team not having practice that day. She was getting suspicious about why Drew had asked her to meet him in the gym, since he was nowhere in sight. She sat down on the bleachers and waited for a moment, humming to herself to pass the time.

"Waiting for someone?"

"Oh my gosh! Drew? Don't sneak up on me like that!" Clare exclaimed as she clutched her chest. "You nearly gave me a heart attack!" The boy merely chuckled as he gestured for her to step out onto the court with him. She was in her yellow Panther's t-shirt and long dark blue sweat pants while Drew was in a wife beater and basketball shorts.

"I have to practice today since I've been skipping out all week... But that doesn't mean we can't talk," Drew said. "But, uh, there's a catch today." He was smiling and Clare knew he was scheming something.

"Do tell," she encouraged. Her lips formed her cute smile as she looked at Drew with her big blue eyes. It was tempting to just stare into her eyes forever but he knew he couldn't.

"We take turns making free throws," Drew said as he ran to grab a basketball from the back of the gym. He dribbled the ball over to her and kept talking. "Every time I make a shot, I get ask you one question, and every time you make a shot, you can ask me a question."

"Okay..." Clare said. She was a bit hesitant. She wasn't exactly great at sports but perhaps he had a reason for this game of his. Drew took the first shot and like he expected, the ball went into the hoop with ease. Clare stuck her tongue out at Drew playfully, but he gave her a bright smile.

"So tell me about you and KC's relationship last year," he said. He'd been dying of curiosity since Clare mentioned that they dated the year before. She shrugged her shoulders with her teasing smirk, pretending as if she had no idea what he was talking about.

"That's not a question," she pointed out. Drew rolled his eyes as she giggled at him. He hated when she did things like that but at the same time, he loved it too.

"Fine. Can you please tell me everything that happened between you and KC last year?" he said proudly, now that his question was phrased properly.

"Well, nothing all that important. We were just two kids with a crush. He and my other friend Connor fought over me but I finally got together with KC at a dance. He was my first boyfriend so he was special to me, but we weren't always on the same page so we fought a lot. Then Jenna came along and you can see how that played out. I'm happy for them now but I feel like sex ruined all my relationships," Clare stated.

"How?" Drew inquired. He was certain Clare was abstinent, so how could sex cause any drama for her?

"Sorry Drew, but that's two questions," she said as she stole the ball from him. He huffed loudly and pouted his lips just to hear her laugh at his silliness.

"Fine. Shoot," he said. Clare threw the ball at the basket, but when it hit the rim, it bounced back, nearly hitting her in the face. Drew moved quickly enough to catch it before it could harm her at all. Clare was blushing at how silly she must have looked ducking her head and fearing the ball like a coward, but Drew didn't tease her like she thought he would.

"I'm not that great at this," she said as she cringed. Drew gave her a half smile and dribbled the ball a few times as he walked around her.

"Looks like you don't get to ask me a question. It's my turn," he shot the ball and it went straight in yet again. Drew grinned at Clare who was rolling her baby blue eyes and pretending to be uninterested.

"Ask away," she said.

"So what do mean you mean sex ruined all you relationships?" Drew asked.

"Well, I think the main reason KC and I broke up was because I wasn't ready to have sex. Jenna was, and since she was flirting with him and giving him such an irresistible option, we ended up splitting. Then with Eli, he didn't want to sleep with me because he thought I wasn't ready yet, even though he slept with his ex on more than one occasion. It's not really a problem for us now but it did rock the boat for a while," Clare said. Drew nodded. He had no idea how much sex played a role in her relationships, even when she wasn't doing anything with her boyfriends.

"I starting to think we should all just say screw sex and just eat pizza," he declared as he tossed Clare the ball. She laughed and shot the orange ball at the hoop. Yet again, it hit the rim but failed to go in much to Clare's irritation.

"I can't do it!" she exclaimed as she threw her hands up for emphasis. Drew chuckled and caught the ball for her. It was cute how determined she was to make a basket so that she could finally ask him a question. He gave her the ball and stood behind her, instructing her on how to shoot.

"You just need some pointers," he said. "Move your feet so that they're shoulder width apart," he began. Clare did as he said. "Okay, bend your knees a little and hold the ball like this." He moved closer to her and fixed her arms into the correct position. Clare tried to look at him out of the corner of her eye, hoping that he wouldn't see her blush. Her back was pressed to his chest and she could faintly feel his heartbeat thumping. His chin rested on her shoulder softly and she could feel his breath on the side of her neck. Drew's warm hands moved so he could support her wrists and moved them so she was holding the ball in the proper way.

"N-now what?" she stammered quietly. Drew smiled at Clare, though he knew she couldn't see it.

"You shoot it," he said. Clare did as she was told and sure enough, the ball went into the hoop.

"I actually shot a basket!" she exclaimed as she jumped for joy. Drew was still smiling at her, and gave her a high five for a job well done, letting his hand linger in her grasp for longer than necessary.

"Guess I'm a good coach," he said arrogantly.

"The best, obviously," Clare agreed. "But I get ask you a question now." Drew nodded. A deal was a deal and she did make the shot, even if it was only because of his help. He motioned for her to ask her question so she continued. "Do you like anyone? Bianca included." Drew looked stunned. Why would she ask that?

"Um no... Nobody. Weird question," he stated. Clare shrugged as she shot the ball again and it went into the hoop, much to her delight.

"I get to ask another question!" she shouted happily. Drew looked at her shocked, but a grin was on his face.

"No way! It's my turn! That doesn't count!" he said as he ran to catch the ball. Clare beat him to it and clutched the ball to her stomach, preventing Drew from grabbing it.

"Stop Drew!" she shouted through her laughter as the older boy tried to grab the basketball from her. He was behind her with his arms wrapped around her, swinging her back and forth in an attempt to make her lose her grip. He couldn't lie; it was nice to have a reason to hold her like that.

"If you don't give me that ball I swear to God I will tickle the crap out of you," Drew threatened. Clare merely shook her hand defiantly. Well, he warned her. Drew's fingers moved up and down Clare's stomach, tickling her skin through the fabric of her shirt. She was squealing with laughter but she somehow managed to hold onto the ball for dear life. Drew was surprised. She was a lot more resistant that he gave her credit for.

"St-stop... Drew! I-I... can't... breathe!" Clare gasped. Drew wouldn't stop and Clare finally let her weight fall to the floor as she gave up on trying to hold the ball and merely let Drew tickle her on the ground. He finally stopped and sat on the floor beside her and waited for her to catch her breath. Her giggling died down and she looked at Drew with a silly smirk on her face. "All that and you don't even want the ball anymore?"

"You're more interesting than a ball," Drew said. Clare rolled her eyes but he smiled. He was getting used to spending time with her.

"Is that so? I was sure you liked chasing after that silly thing more than you liked being in the library with me," she chided cleverly.

"When you put it like that..." Drew joked as Clare shoved him playfully.

"I can't believe you," she said.

"So first, you call me cute and today you call me unbelievable?" Drew asked. "Looks like I'm giving Eli a run for his money." Clare gasped and her big blue eyes widened. Did he really just say that? She couldn't let him get away with that.

"I don't think I'm your type," Clare said with a sly smile. "I seem to remember that you're a little bit more interested in girls who are a lot less... conservative."

"Bianca's not that bad," Drew defended, picking up on her suggestion. "She's just not the kind of girl I can see myself with for a long time. I mean, sure there was the boiler room thing, but I couldn't have a real in depth conversation with her like I can with you. It'd be beyond awkward."

"Funny, I thought you liked girls that were easy," she teased. Drew scoffed in disbelief. Clare wasn't like any girl he had been with before, and he wasn't sure how he felt about that. She stood up from the ground and dusted the back of her sweats and he did the same.

"You know, sometimes you say hurtful things," Drew said. Clare smiled.

"Considering you tickled me until I collapsed, I think we're even," she replied.

"True," he said. "Do I have to make it up to you?" Clare tapped her chin thoughtfully and Drew laughed. He couldn't exactly call Clare hot, but she sure was adorable. The way she laughed and smiled, and especially her facial expressions were just the cutest things in the world to him.

"Well, Saturday, can I go over to your place to talk to you?" she said. "You know, studying the old fashion way?" Drew grinned at her. It shouldn't have made him so happy that she wanted to come over to study but it did.

"Sure," he replied. "But Adam's not going to be too thrilled about it." Clare rolled her eyes. She and Drew were just going to study, so why did Adam care? Sure, Drew was flirty, but she wouldn't fall victim to his charming ways. It took more than a million dollar smile and big beautiful eyes to win her heart. And Drew would have a lot of work to do if he wanted to. Clare could put up a fight, and she wouldn't just leave Eli if Drew wanted her to.

"Adam's just being ridiculous," Clare stated. "I mean, why would you possibly like me?" Drew thought for a second. Well, she was simply too cute. And she was really smart and understanding as well. He laughed dryly. He let his little brother get into his head, and now he was thinking about Clare, though he was fighting off that feeling. But why should he? If he was interested in Clare, what was the problem? She was cute, and he was a guy. It was practically his job to go after her.

Okay, she liked Eli, but that never stopped him before. He'd liked plenty of girls in the past that had boyfriends, and he won them over. Sure, Clare wasn't most girls, but there was no way she couldn't feel the way he did; oddly attracted and completely confused. He could feel his heart racing a little, he was dying to ask. He had to know what she was feeling.

"Clare... Are you attracted to me? At all?" Drew asked. She stared up at him confused, with those piercing blue eyes he thought were so pretty. Beautiful even, if he dared to go that far. She seemed speechless now. How could he ask that? She had a boyfriend and he knew it. Was he testing her to see how far she would go with him?

"Why?" Clare asked, though her voice was barely a whisper. Drew stepped closer to her and in turn she took a step back. She had to keep her distance. She couldn't let herself be fooled. He kept trying to come closer and she kept moving back until finally her back met the wall. He had her where he wanted her. She couldn't escape if she wanted to.

"Clare, just answer me. Please," Drew said. Clare swallowed hard and averted his gaze. She summoned all her strength not to look at him but it didn't matter. She was weak and he knew it.

"No," she mumbled as she looked at the floor. She tried to leave but he grabbed her before she could. Drew's hands moved to her face and he cupped her cheeks gently, caressing her soft skin gently. His touch was careful and soothing, sending chills up and down Clare's spine. As much as she wanted to avoid his crystal blue eyes, she couldn't. His gaze cut through her. She knew he was right. She was attracted to him but it was wrong. She shouldn't feel that way when she had a boyfriend.

"Are you sure about that?" Drew asked as his face came closer to hers. She wanted him to close the space between them. She wanted to feel his lips on hers but she couldn't do that to Eli. She knew what it felt like. She couldn't dare betray him like that.

"I don't know anymore," was her reply. He came closer and pressed his mouth to her cheek and kissed her softly. She sighed involuntarily. She was once so strong and now, he had made her weak. Drew placed one hand on her waist and cupped her face with the other, gently tracing her bottom lip with his thumb. He wanted to kiss her. Oh, he wanted to kiss her badly. But he knew it was so wrong to make her cheat on her boyfriend like that.

"If you want me to stop," Drew said as his lips moved toward the corner of her mouth, "Then just tell me." Clare was practically dying. Every word, every affectionate motion was killing her inside. She had to know what kissing him would feel like. And he was begging her to give him the opportunity to find out. But she was Saint Clare. She wasn't supposed to enjoy his touch, or anyone else's besides Eli's. Drew should've disgusted her. How could she cheat on her beloved Eli? How could something so wrong, turn out to feel so right?

"Drew... I have a boyfriend..." she whispered.

"Then why are you still here?" he demanded. She didn't speak, the words refused to flow from her brain to her mouth, so Drew continued to talk. "You could've left."

"I don't recall having the option to leave when you grabbed me by my arm and held me here," Clare said with as much venom as she could spew. Drew laughed in disbelief.

"You could've yelled at me to stop. You could've fought me, or pushed me away Clare. But you just stood there." Clare was silent. Drew was right, but could she really give him that satisfaction? "You didn't even ask me to stop. All you said was that you have a boyfriend, but you never said you didn't want me to kiss you. You're just as confused about this as I am and you know it."

"Stop it!" Clare shouted. She was close to tears, she could feel it. She almost made a horrible mistake; she almost cheated on Eli with Drew. A boy with a million dollar smile and big beautiful eyes. How could she be so stupid? The thin line between right and wrong was blurred now she wasn't sure what to do anymore. Clare angrily marched away and left for the locker room. She had to get away from him before he could confuse her even more.

"Clare, wait..." Drew said. She never turned around as she stormed out of the gym. Because she knew if she looked back, she wouldn't be able to stop herself from kissing him a second time.


	7. Unfaithful

**A/N: **So sorry I took this long to update guys, but I do have a lot going on right now in my life. Anyhow, I hope you guys enjoy this even though it's much shorter than the other chapters before it. As usual, read and review to let me know how much you like it!

* * *

"I'm sorry Eli," Clare said as she closed her locker. It was Friday and the final bell had already rung, allowing all of Degrassi's students to leave and enjoy their weekends. Eli sighed and gave Clare a quick kiss on her forehead as the couple walked out of the school.

"It's fine Clare. I mean, if you parents need you home for something important, who am I to stand in the way of that?" he joked. Clare smiled brightly at him. She hated having to lie to him but she needed to find someone important and she couldn't do it with Eli around. "Want me to drive you home?"

"Oh... uh, no Eli, it's fine. I actually forgot something in my history class so you can just go on without me, alright?" Clare said quickly. Eli stared at her suspiciously, but knowing Clare, he knew he had no reason to worry. She hated lying and they never lied to each other. Sure, he developed a nasty habit of lying to her here and there, but that was different. He was lying to protect her feelings. She would understand that. _If_ she ever found out about his secret. Eli gave Clare a half hearted smile and kissed her goodbye.

"Call me okay?" he said. Clare nodded and turned on her heel, hurrying back into Degrassi. She knew exactly where he would be and she had to hurry up if she wanted to see him before school officials would start telling him and his rowdy friends to leave the building. As she turned down the once familiar hallway, she saw KC with his fingers intertwined with Jenna's just like she had expected. As Clare tried to approach KC and his circle of jocks, a certain blue eyed boy caught her gaze through the dozen students in the hallway.

"Clare! There you are!" Drew said as he attempted to get the sophomore to look at him. "I called you for like two hours straight yesterday. Please, I just want to talk..."

"Not now Drew," Clare hissed quietly. None of the people there had noticed her arrival and the last thing she needed was for one of them to notice her and Drew together. She was certain she would die if she found out he had told anyone. Without giving Drew a second glance, Clare walked toward KC, wondering what on Earth she was going to say. Luckily, Jenna let go of his hand and turned to go to the bathroom, giving Clare the perfect opportunity to talk to her ex-boyfriend. When he noticed her, he gave her a confused glance but waved, trying to fake a smile.

"Uh, hey Clare," KC said. "Is something up? You looked worried." Clare laughed inwardly. She was more than worried at this point. She had been up half the night trying to figure out how she could possibly be attracted to two people at once and on top of that, how it could be her best friend's ex boyfriend of all people. Clare decided KC probably could give her the best advice on the subject though not without an awkward and uncomfortable conversation about it.

"KC I have to ask you a question. When we were together and Jenna came along, how did you realize that you were attracted to her?" Clare asked. She had to be as straight forward as possible so that she could get her answer before Jenna came back. KC looked around confused before he cleared his throat.

"That's... odd Clare. What's this about?" he asked. KC kept his voice low to avoid grabbing anyone's attention. Clare chewed on her lip. She didn't have time to give him full details. Especially not with Drew lurking around trying to talk to her.

"I just need to know," Clare stated simply.

"Is everything okay between you and Eli?" KC asked. He waited for her to respond, but when Clare kept silent he continued. "Clare, if you think that you're attracted to someone else, even a little, it doesn't make you a bad person. Maybe this guy is a sign."

"A sign? Clare repeated. "Of what?"

"Well, Jenna was the sign that you and I weren't perfect... I mean, we both knew we were going to break up sooner or later before she came around. Jenna just sped up that process. If for one second, you're doubting your loyalty like I was, maybe you and Eli aren't meant to be," KC said. Clare sighed and looked away from KC. She was afraid he would tell her something like that, but at least he was offering her genuine advice. Clare turned to look towards the bathroom and sure enough Jenna was slowly returning to her boyfriend and his friends.

"Thanks," she muttered as she made her way out of the school. Out of the corner of her eyes she noticed Drew giving her a sorry stare, but she brushed it off. She couldn't think about Drew now. She had to get over to Alli's place as soon as possible.

* * *

"Hey stranger," someone called to Eli. He was sitting by himself in The Dot and looked up to see Bianca sauntering up to him and sitting at the table behind him so that their backs were to each other. Eli chuckled. Bianca was one clever girl, he'd give her that. Eli looked around The Dot and there were a few people he and Clare knew there so he had to be careful about what he did or said.

"Hello to you too," he said as he looked out the window as if he was daydreaming. "I see you got my text." After Clare had cancelled on him, Eli texted Bianca and asked her to meet him at the cafe. She agreed but unfortunately, they had no where to go. He was too lazy to think at that point and maybe she had somewhere in mind. After all, it was about time she chose where she wanted to go instead of tagging along and going wherever Eli wanted to drag her.

"Yeah," Bianca replied over her shoulder. She stared at the empty seat in front of her and sighed inwardly. Of all the girls in school, he had to be dating the biggest prude of all. If it was anyone else she wouldn't really care what they thought about her, but the fact that it was Degrassi's biggest bible thumper made Bianca slightly more cautious. She knew Clare would judge her for sure, but Bianca wasn't completely ignorant to religion, so she knew Clare would never verbally voice her opinion. Just thinking about Clare silently criticizing her would probably drive Bianca to insanity. Breaking out of her thoughts, the curly haired brunette spoke again. "What do you say we get out of here and go someplace you can _actually_ be seen with me?" she suggested. Eli smiled and stood up from his seat, poking Bianca in the back gently.

"Meet me in my car in five minutes?" he suggested as he walked towards the door. Bianca smiled and waited until enough time had passed for her to leave The Dot to join Eli in his hearse. She put on the radio and a Dead Hand song came blasting through the speakers. The two juniors immediately started bopping their head to the beat and belted out the lyrics. Bianca laughed at the irony of it, considering she and Eli had met because of Dead Hand. She had hated him for almost preventing her from seeing them in concert. It was funny how things could change so drastically.

"Where are we going?" Bianca asked. Eli shrugged his shoulders as he drove around aimlessly. He hadn't really thought that through. He stopped at a red light and looked at Bianca for a suggestion.

"Do you have anywhere in mind?" he asked. She didn't reply but instead stared out the windshield with wide eyes.

"Oh my God..." she whispered. Eli turned to look at what had Bianca so mesmerized.

"What are you looking at?" Eli asked with a chuckle. "You look like you've saw ghost or something."

"Just your weird trans friend," Bianca replied as she pointed out the window of Eli's hearse. Sure enough, his upbeat expression changed to match hers. Adam was standing at the corner of the block glaring daggers at the two before he angrily turned on his heel and left.

"This can't be good," Eli muttered. He turned to look at Bianca, but she merely shrugged it off.

"Let her think what she wants," Bianca said. Eli knew she was purposely doing that and he let out an angry sigh.

"_His _name is Adam," Eli stated. "And when he tells Clare what he saw-"

"She..." Eli glared and Bianca rolled her eyes and corrected herself. "Fine. _He_ didn't see anything. We were just talking. It wasn't like I was giving you head or anything. Besides, you would've picked me over her eventually anyway."

"What?" he asked in a confused tone. Cars were starting to honk their horns behind him, so Eli pulled up to the curb to continue his conversation with Bianca. He knew she was bad news, but still, he thought she had changed. How could he have thought she actually wanted to hang around him without wanting something? Of course she was planning to steal him away from Clare, and what was worse was that he had played right into her trap.

"Eli, don't be stupid. You're hot, and you're little girlfriend Clare wouldn't do half the things I would. I can see the way you look at her," Bianca's hands cupped his face softly and she licked her lips tauntingly with her famous flirtatious smirk. "She's got you so damn frustrated... Don't you want to relax?" Her hands slid agonizingly slow down his chest and fell to the hem of his khaki pants were she began to play with his belt loops.

"You really are just a whore aren't you?" Eli demanded. "And I bet you planned this from the beginning right? You just wanted to get your hands in my pants from the second you came up to me with that sob story."

"You're too sexy for her," Bianca stated as if this was a fact Eli should've known from the day he was born. "You should be glad I'm putting your relationship out of its misery." Eli scoffed and pushed Bianca off of him with disgust. That was just wonderful. He had the school slut hitting on him in his car.

"You don't even want me. I'm just another guy on your to-do list Bianca. You're too easy for me; I like a challenge," Eli said. Bianca smiled as she leaned toward him and began to undo the buttons of her red polo shirt so her bra now visible. Eli had to look away. She was unbelievable.

"Admit it. This entire week she's ditched you to go hang out with Drew, and you and I both know it's only a matter of time before she replaces you with him," Bianca said. "Besides, you don't care what people think about you. What's so different about this?"

"Clare would never..." Eli tried to say the words, but he couldn't. He remembered the way she had dodged him and the suspicious feeling she had given him, but he had blown it off. Was that why Clare was tutoring Drew? So she could cheat on him? Eli felt crushed by the realization.

"Where's your loyal girlfriend now?" Bianca demanded. "Oh, I know, she's probably taking off her purity ring with Drew." Eli looked crestfallen. How could he let another girl slip through his fingers the way Julia did? There was a short silence, and Bianca used the time to gently stroke Eli's hands, though she had other plans in mind.

"What make you think I'd want to be with you?" Eli asked to break the silence. Bianca laughed and brought her face closer to his. Eli's green eyes inspected Bianca carefully, starting with her flirty bright brown eyes to her pink glossy lips before her stopped his gaze as her now visible chest. It was official; he was going to hell.

"Kiss me," Bianca ordered. He gave her his famous smirk.

"And if I say no?" Bianca growled under her breath before she leaned toward him and placed her mouth on his. She was slow and gentle at first, but she hated the feeling of having butterflies in her stomach. She was far too impatient to not deepen the kiss herself, taking away any doubt he had about her. Eli was hers now and there wasn't anything Clare, Adam, or anyone else could do about it. As they pulled apart, Bianca buttoned her shirt back up and she opened Eli's car door with a smile.

"Leaving already?" Eli said as he gave her a playful pout. Bianca shrugged with a cool smile.

"I'm coming over tomorrow E," Bianca said. "Guess you'll just have to wait for me until then." She smiled and walked away, leaving Eli to catch his breath. This was so wrong, but he hadn't meant to kiss her. He was vulnerable and Bianca took advantage of his state. He didn't want hurt Clare, but she had beaten him to it already. As Eli drove Morty home, he wondered to himself, what had he gotten himself into?

* * *

"Clare, you're here already?" Alli asked with shock as she allowed her friend to enter her house. "I thought you wouldn't be here for another hour or something."

"Yeah well, I uh... lied to Eli to get out of it. I thought hanging with you was more important," Clare lied. Alli smiled and dragged Clare inside and upstairs to her room before she could say anything more. Alli was grinning but Clare was pale and exhausted. She figured the next person to talk to after KC would be none other than her fashionista friend, and she had to get some female perspective on the topic of Drew.

"Clare, you look absolutely green!" Alli said as she walked to her night stand and got out a handful of nail polishes in all sorts of colors. "You obviously have something on your mind, so spill already! But first, pick a color." Clare giggled as the two plopped onto Alli's bed before she pointed at a dark red color. It wasn't really her style but she knew Alli would be proud of her for picking that color.

"Okay, so Eli and I have been kind of... Off lately," Clare explained. Alli nodded as she began painting her friends nails the fiery red color.

"Have you two been fighting? Don't tell me you're gonna break it off with him!" Alli exclaimed. Her eyes never moved from her friend's hand as she coated Clare's nail as perfectly as she could. When she noticed her friend's hesitation, Alli stopped and stared at Clare with her mouth agape. "You're planning on breaking up with Eli?"

"Not really, it's just that... there's this other guy, and I don't need that drama right now. I talked to KC about it and he thought me breaking up with Eli was a good idea," the brunette explained. Alli shook her head in disbelief as she let the new information sink in. How could Clare throw all that away for some other guy? That was like Clare at all.

"KC's a guy, so he's automatically wrong. Plus, he's your ex boyfriend for crying out loud! He doesn't care about you like I do and as your friend, I can't just let you dump Eli," Alli said.

"I never said I was going to _dump_ him," Clare defended.

"But you were considering it, and that's just as bad!" Alli exclaimed. "That thought is like a little poisonous seed that would grow into a huge ugly plant. You're not thinking straight right now. Searching for Adam's phone with Drew must have killed some of your vital brain cells." Clare faked a smile but looked away. The mention of his name sent shivers down her spine.

"Yeah," she muttered quietly. "Good thing I don't want to spend anymore time with him."

"Good," Alli said as she finished the rest of Clare's nails. "Hey, can you go to the bathroom and get the protective coat? I forgot to get it."

"Sure," Clare said as she got off the bed and walked off. Alli waited in silence for her friend, but she noticed Clare's phone was vibrating. Alli peaked at it and noticed in shock that it was Drew's name that had flashed across the screen. The dark skinned girl absolutely had to read it. She looked up to make sure she couldn't hear Clare's footsteps, and quickly pressed the button to read the message to herself.

_Clare. Please call me back. I'm so sorry. Can we talk about it? _Why would Drew be apologizing to Clare? Confused, Alli went through some more of Clare's texts and realized that the entire inbox was filled with Drew's messages.

_Please please please call me back!_

_I'm an idiot, forgive me? =(_

_We need to talk about this!_

_You can't ignore me forever!_

_Clare, I'm sorry I tried to kiss you_

_~I think I might have feelings for you..._

Alli's jaw dropped at the messages. The other guy was Drew? That couldn't be possible! No wonder Clare was hanging out with him, they weren't looking for Adam's phone, they were fooling around behind everyone's backs! Alli set her friend's phone back down and fumed. Clare was supposed to be her best friend, but she had just betrayed her. She should have known better when she caught Clare and Drew talking to each other. Clare came back with the clear coat and smiled at Alli. Alli wondered when her best friend became so sneaky, but faked a smile of her own.

"Found it," Clare said as she rejoined her friend on her bed as tossed her the clear coat.

"Great," Alli said acting as if she was excited. "Just _super_."

* * *

"Drew? What are you doing home?" Adam asked as he threw his book bag off to the side and sat next to his older brother on the living room couch. Drew sighed and looked up at Adam with tired eyes. He had been waiting for Adam for a while now and it was about time his stepbrother got home.

"It's Clare. Ever since yesterday when I tried to kiss her, I can't get her to talk to me," Drew said sadly. Adam's eyes widened suddenly.

"Drew! What did I tell you? Why the hell would you do that?" Adam demanded. Drew shrugged his shoulders casually as if kissing girls who had boyfriends was perfectly acceptable and he could do it whenever he pleased. Adam wanted to slap his older brother. How one person could be so stupid dumbfounded him.

"Does it matter? She hates me now," the older boy stated.

"Not as much as she's gonna hate Eli," Adam replied.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Drew asked as he cocked and eyebrow. Adam sighed. Drew was family and Clare was his best friend. If there was anyone who need to know about Eli's cheating, Drew would be the one. He would make Drew promise to keep quiet about it, but Adam had to tell someone about it. It would eat him alive if he didn't.

"I caught her boyfriend driving around town with Bianca DeSousa," Adam replied.

"Oh God, that whore?" Drew demanded. Adam nodded his head slightly.

"They were laughing and talking... until they saw me that is." He looked down sadly. Clare would be so broken hearted when she found out. What made it worse was that Drew seemed like if he could, he would love her right. Not like how he treated Alli. Adam could tell from the look on his brother's face; Clare made him a better person. Drew's once saddened face light up and an evil grin came across his face. Adam looked at him quizzically and Drew spoke in an excited tone, and enunciated every word.

"Adam, I want you to tell me _everything_ you saw back there."


	8. Point of No Return

**A/N: **It's been a while right? The last chapter got tons of positive feedback, so I'd like to thank all of you for that! I hope you guys enjoy this chapter as well. There's a lot more Eli/Bianca (Elianca?) and of course a boat load of Drew/Clare (Now idea what the pairing name is here. Drare? Clew?) RxR

* * *

"Bianca," Eli said as he opened his front door to allow the brunette girl into his home. It was mid-Saturday afternoon and like she had promised she was outside of his house hoping to spend time with him. Without waiting for an invitation inside, she let herself in and took off her coat before she plopped onto the living room couch. Her thick, curly hair was pulled up into a messy ponytail and she wearing what Eli assumed to be dance attire; a red wife beater that exposed her midriff and black leggings. It was a wonder how she managed to stay warm all the way to his house, but that didn't really matter. Even if she was cold, he knew she was the kind of person that would suck it up.

"Hey E, I'm hungry. Got any food?" she asked as she turned the TV on. Eli laughed. Clare was the reserved kind of girl who asked for permission in someone else's house. Bianca on the other hand couldn't care less and made any home her own.

"Well hello to you too," Eli replied with a smile before mimicking Bianca's voice. "_Oh, hi Eli. I've missed you so much! How are you? I totally care about your life!_"

"Oh shut up," Bianca said as she fanned herself with her hand. She beamed at him to show him she was only kidding, and he returned the smile. "Do you have food or not?" Eli pointed to the kitchen where a bag of Chinese food laid; the steam was still rising off of it, indicating that it hadn't arrived too long ago. Happily, she got up and turned the TV off to finally eat lunch for the day. Eli sat at the kitchen table with Bianca to eat as well. He handed her one box of lo mien and took the other for himself.

"While we eat, mind if I ask you a question?" Eli asked as Bianca opened her white box of noodles.

"Shoot," she said as she began to devour her food. He chuckled but continued. This was a serious matter. He couldn't afford to be laughing at that moment.

"It's about yesterday when Adam saw us..." Eli began nervously as he took a quick bite of his food.

"Whatever." Bianca rolled her eyes as if that didn't matter at all. "Your girlfriend is crazy about you right? She won't believe him."

"Adam's one of her closest friends," Eli said. He stared at Bianca as if she was stupid, but she didn't look fazed.

"So? If she asks, tell her you were on a romantic date with me. Nobody would believe that considering my rep. She'll think you two were pranking her and she'll blow it off," Bianca said. It was obvious that she was speaking from experience, but Eli shook it off.

"That's besides that point," he stated. "I was talking about when you kissed me."

"Oh." Bianca seemed even less interested than before. "What about that?"

"Did you tell anyone about yesterday?" he asked. "I mean I know we kissed but..."

"Whoa, calm down there," she said as she slurped a noodle. "All we did was kiss. Nothing worth bragging about." Eli raised an eyebrow at the brunette girl across from him. Nothing worth bragging about? Did she think this was a game or something?

"What?" he demanded.

"You heard me Goldsworthy. I don't kiss and tell. That's so middle school," she explained in a matter-of-factly tone.

"And I suppose if clothes came off you'd much rather talk about it?" he inquired. Bianca smirked suggestively and shrugged.

"You know me so well." Eli nodded silently and waited until she finished eating to ask his next question.

"So what exactly do you want from me? I have a girlfriend," he said.

"I think you could better. I mean, she's some uptight prude that's got you all wound up... You need to let go, and if she won't help you, maybe I can be of assistance," Bianca said with a devilish grin. Eli rolled his eyes. Bianca was pretty cute but she was still way too forward. Dammit, he thought she was cute?

"I'm not that kind of guy," Eli replied.

"People can change," Bianca stated.

"And I suppose you like being the sideline girl?" he asked.

"When you're with her, you'll be remembering me. When you're with me, you'll be forgetting about her. Not that bad of a deal if you ask me," she stated.

"And, let's say I happen to actually like my girlfriend a lot more than you?" Eli said.

"Yeah, you like her so much that you kissed me back yesterday. You _really_ love her, don't you Eli?" Bianca said sarcastically.

"_Obviously_, I don't love my girlfriend because I'm head over heels for you right?" he said in a bitter mocking tone. "This whole time I spent kissing her and giving her all I could give, it was really part of some elaborate plan to win you over Bianca. _Clearly._"

"You two aren't even a cute couple. She's like freaking Jesus, Joseph, and Mary wrapped in one and you couldn't care less about religious crap. You don't like the same music. You don't have the same style. I can totally see why you like her. Oh wait, no I can't," Bianca snapped. She was close to yelling but she did her best to keep her cool. She knew Eli couldn't think for a second that she was serious about her feelings for him if he was trying that hard to hurt her.

"I'm sorry that it takes more than big hair and push up bras to get me to like you," Eli replied.

"Yeah, nothing's more of a turn on than watching your saintly girlfriend getting her bible on," she muttered in an annoyed voice. "I don't see what it's so hard for you to accept the fact that you kissed me back yesterday. I think you're hot. You think I'm hot. I can make you smile. You can make me smile. We listen to Dead Hand. We watch scary movies and kick ass at pinball and poker. We like black. We actually have shit in common. What exactly is so disgusting about you liking me?"

"Do you really want an answer to that?" he asked. Bianca looked taken back by his response, but nodded her head as if to give him permission to continue. "Sure you have a nice face, and a nice body, but being with you is disgusting because _you're_ disgusting."

"Excuse me?" Bianca demanded. "And what the hell is that supposed to mean?" Eli chuckled darkly.

"It means maybe if you weren't so damn easy, you and I would probably happen."

"You really wanna go for the low blows Goldsworthy? Because I'm not the one dating the world's biggest Christian while I'm interested in the 'school slut'," she informed him.

"Has it occurred to you that maybe I'm _not_ interested in you? You're not my type. I like girls with morals and self-respect. You're so eager to jump in bed with anyone, it's freaking pathetic. I don't want to get a blow job from you. I don't want to kiss you, or feel you up, or anything. Bianca, I don't want to be with you," Eli said as solemnly as he could. Bianca stared at Eli angrily and shook her head in disbelief.

"So what? You feel bad about what you did so you think trying to make me feel worthless too will clear your conscience? Sorry kid, that's not how this works," Bianca said bitterly.

"How what works? Selling your soul to get temporary happiness? Maybe you can live like that Bianca, but unlike you, I care about people other than myself," Eli said through his teeth.

"Care about someone other than myself? Not one damn person in that school gives a rat's ass about me and you know it. If I don't look out for me, no one else will," she shot back.

"Yeah. That makes being a trampy bimbo a-okay in your book right?" Eli asked. "If you can't be happy, you'll dish it out to those who don't deserve it, right? Great job Bianca, role model of the year." He gave her a fake round of applause if only to rub salt in the deep wound he just cut.

"Like you're so great," she stated. "You walk around acting like you don't care about anyone or anything but as soon as someone insults you, you want to start a fight. I treat people like crap but at least I have the balls to own up to it."

"Bianca, you're right. I do treat people like crap. I make mistakes. But you know what? I try my best to learn from them and move on. I don't keep trying to hold onto something like a desperate whore, claiming what wasn't rightfully mine to begin with." Bianca let out an angry laugh.

"You know I never thought you'd be the one to try and make me feel like crap for being me. Well congratu-freaking-lations Eli! Mission accomplished," the sixteen year old girl walked to the living room and grabbed her coat with Eli close on her heels.

"Bianca wait," he blocked her but she struggled against him.

"Get off of me," Bianca demanded. "I don't want to stay here and listen to you insult me anymore. I'm leaving. Let me go!" At that moment, memories flooded back into Eli's head. This was just like what happened with Julia just before she turned around and left him for the last time. Insults were flung back and forth and he said things he didn't mean but couldn't take back. Why didn't he ever think before he spoke? Had he learned nothing from his past? Eli was terrified to let Bianca go. What if something bad happened when he let go of her? What if when she walked out of his house, that would be the very last time he saw her because she was too upset to think straight, let alone get herself home safely? He couldn't lose someone again because of his temper. Eli had to keep Bianca there in his arms where he could her safe. It didn't matter how; he just had to keep her there.

"I'm sorry," he whispered into her hair. "I'm so, so sorry Bianca. I take it all back. I'm sorry."

"Eli-" Bianca tried to get out of his grasp but her mind drew a blank as soon as she felt his lips pressed firmly against hers.

* * *

"Drew, please don't do this," Adam begged as his older brother dialed Eli's number on their house phone. Drew ignored Adam yet again as he put the phone to his ear and listened for Eli's voice. No way could he give up that opportunity. As a football and basketball player he knew better than to let chances like that pass him by. He was the kind of person who had to face bold decisions like that head on.

"I'm sorry bro, but I gotta do this," Drew said. "All's fair in love in and war." Adam rolled his eyes but kept quiet as Drew decided put the phone on speaker so they could both hear the conversation. After what felt like forever, Eli final answered. Drew put a finger to his lips and Adam kept his mouth shut. As much as he thought what Drew was doing was a bad idea, he still wanted to be there for his brother and hear what was going on for himself.

"Hello? Who's this?" Eli demanded.

"It's Drew," the older of the Torres boys said. There was a short silence and the sounds of muffled arguing on Eli's end. Drew quirked an eyebrow at his younger brother but Adam shrugged. He was just as confused as Drew was.

"Clare's not with me," Eli finally spat back. If he wasn't with Clare, then who on Earth had Eli just been talking to? Adam and Drew could both faintly hear someone on Eli's end asking who he was talking to but he quickly hushed them.

"I wasn't asking about Clare," Drew replied. He paused for a second but with a sly smile he continued. "I was asking about Bianca. I figured you'd know where she is, you know considering how you two are such a great pair." There was a long moment of smile and Drew's smile only widened. The person with Eli must've been Bianca! Judging from Eli's silence, Drew figured the dark haired boy knew he was caught and trying desperately to get out of his situation.

"Adam told you?" the green eyed boy asked.

"I forced it out of him." Drew said but Adam slapped his forehead. Why did his name have to be in the conversation?

"So what do you want from me?" Eli asked. Drew could tell that Eli was only pretending to be calm but he was probably sweating bullets.

"Meet me at The Dot in 20 minutes," Drew said. "I have something in mind." There was yet another pause, but Eli sighed.

"Fine. I'll be there." With that, he hung up and Drew did the same.

"So he is cheating on her!" Drew exclaimed. "When I get my hands on that asshole I-"

"You'll what? Even if you beat the crap out of Eli, Clare will be mad at you for solving your problems with violence," Adam stated. Drew groaned, but he knew his brother was right. He would have to deal with it in a civilized way that Clare would be proud of. Whatever the hell that meant.

"So what do I do then? He can't get away with this. She's already been some other guy's second choice," the older boy said. "If she finds out Eli was cheating on her, she'll be crushed."

"That doesn't give you the right to pound his face in. No matter how much we both know he deserves it for doing this to Clare," Adam reasoned. "If anything, just blackmail him into telling her himself. That way you still helped her out without using your fists." Drew nodded silently.

"But I don't even know if she likes me back. She's been ignoring me for like... forever," he said sadly.

"Well, we'll cross that bridge when we reach it," Adam said. "Just give Eli a deadline to tell Clare about Bianca himself. If he doesn't do it by the deadline then I say just screw Eli and tell her yourself. The sooner the better. Now hurry up and get to The Dot before Eli gets there and changes his mind about meeting up with you." Drew smiled as he grabbed his jacket. He ran downstairs with Adam close on his heels as he opened the front door.

"I told Clare to come over today, but the way she's been ignoring me, I doubt she'll come... But if she does, tell her I won't be long," Drew said.

"Sure dude," Adam said. "Just please don't do anything stupid. Eli's still my best friend, even if he is a moron." Drew gave his younger brother a nod and left the house, walking briskly to the local cafe. He had only a few moments to think of a plan, and even fewer time to get there. How could anyone be dumb enough to cheat on Clare for Bianca? That was like trading in a brand new pair of Nikes for a beat up pair of crocs. Drew would know; he'd sunken that low with Bianca already.

Drew's mind wandered back to Adam's advice about giving Eli a deadline. Drew knew that there was supposed to be a party at Above the Dot soon. That seemed like enough time to give Eli considering the situation. The blue eyed boy inhaled and started to jog. He was feeling high off of his adrenaline rush; he finally had something on Eli. That knowledge was enough to give Drew more confidence than he had felt about liking Clare all week.

As he finally reached The Dot, he realized that Eli's hearse was already parked outside. Drew smiled. He must have really scared the crap out of Eli. The blue eyed boy sauntered inside and sat next to Eli at a table in the center of the cafe. Drew had a smile on his face but it seemed as if the gothic boy was in no mood for fake smiles. He wanted nothing more than to get to the point.

"You must've been in a hurry to get here," Drew noted. "I bet Bianca's probably still getting dressed over at your place." Eli snarled.

"Shut up okay? I know all about you and Clare, so don't give me any of your 'holier-than-thou' bullshit," he spat. "What do you want from me?"

"You know all about me and Clare? She won't even talk to me anymore,"

"Is that so?" Eli asked. "Because that's not what I heard."

"What have you heard?" Drew asked with a puzzled look.

"I know she's sneaking around behind my back with you," Eli said. His voice cracked slightly as he spoke.

"Clare? Cheating on you? She would never do that," Drew defended. Eli scoffed and gave Drew a sarcastic look.

"Is that so?" the green eyed boy asked. Drew shook his head in disbelief. How could Clare choose someone so thick headed to be her boyfriend?

"She loves you. She wanted your relationship to be honest, and if you ask me that was a pretty dumb choice," Drew stated, referring to Eli and Bianca.

"And why should I believe a word you say?" Eli demanded. He glared darkly at Drew who seemed unfazed.

"You don't have to. But do you really think Clare would do that?" Drew asked. Eli swallowed hard. He knew Drew was right but he couldn't accept the fact that he had messed up so badly. How could he have believed anything Bianca told him? She wouldn't stop until she got what she wanted, and that's exactly what she did. She fooled Eli into doing exactly what he never wanted to do to Clare. Eli sighed and looked at Drew sadly.

"So what do you want from me now?" he asked. Drew smiled.

"Clare's gonna find out about you and Bianca, and _you're_ going to tell her, before the next Above the Dot party," he said, referring to the party that would be in two weeks. Eli wanted to say no, but he knew if he didn't tell Clare, Drew probably would, and exaggerate some things for sure.

"Fine," Eli said. "You have my word."

* * *

"Clare!" Adam said as he opened the front door to allow his brunette friend inside his house. "Um, what's up?"

"I came to see if Drew was here..." she said as she sat down in the living room. She was wearing a white cami with a lime green cardigan and a pair of light washed jeans white black flats. It looked a tad bit dressy in comparison to Adam's gray sweatshirt and basketball shorts.

"He went to out for a little bit. He'll be back soon if you want to wait," Adam replied. "Why do you need him anyway?" Clare blushed and looked down at the floor.

"I... um, n-need to talk to him..." she stuttered. Adam nodded his head knowingly.

"If it's about him trying to kiss you I already know," he said. After noticing Clare confused look, Adam explained further. "Bro code."

"Oh," she said. "If you don't mind I don't really want to talk about that." Adam quirked an eyebrow at Clare and sat next to her on the gray couch.

"You can tell me anything," Adam said. "We're best friends aren't we? Besides, at least you can get all your thoughts out with me so when you talk to Drew you know exactly what you want to say." Clare smiled gratefully and pulled Adam in for a hug before she took a deep breath.

"Well, I love Eli. You know that and he knows that and Drew knows that. So that's why I can't have feelings for Drew when I have a boyfriend. You know what happened to him and Julia. I can't hurt him anymore than he's already been hurt. I know Drew; he'll bounce back from this. But Eli? He'll be crushed," Clare said.

"Drew won't bounce back from this," Adam said. "Trust me."

"Drew? Drew Torres? Drew 'The obnoxious, football-playing, womanizer Torres?" Clare asked with a laugh. "I think we're talking about two different people here."

"You've got Drew all wrong," Adam said. "You know that kid won't stop freaking talking about you? At all? Ever since you started giving him the cold shoulder, he's been flipping out. Drew's nuts about you, and even though he tries to act all tough and badass, he's afraid that you don't feel the same way."

"But that's the problem!" Clare exclaimed. "I think there's a part of me- a small and radically insane part of me- that might actually have feelings for him."

"And?"

"And I don't know what to do about it!" she shrieked. "There's something about him that I can't explain,"

"I know what you mean," Adam said. "But what about Eli?"

"When I'm with Eli, I feel... alive." Clare said. "I feel like everything is exciting and I swear that I'm flying because he's just so intense."

"How does Drew make you feel?" the small boy asked. There was a small pause before the fifteen year old girl spoke up.

"Drew makes me feel like a little kid. He's so sweet and playful and... He'd kill me if he knew I told you this... But something happened to him with his dad a few years back, and when he talks about it, you can see it in his eyes; he's still a kid inside too."

"Well Clare, I can't tell you the right thing to do here. But I just think you should know that if you stay with Eli, he's not exactly who you think he is," Adam said solemnly.

"What do you mean by that?" she asked. Adam didn't response and luckily at that moment, Drew came back inside. He looked at his younger brother then back at Clare who gave him a small wave.

"I'm gonna go play Mario Kart in my room," Adam lied, giving his brother a chance to take to Clare. As he went upstairs, Drew walked over to Clare and gave her a small smile.

"Hey," he said.

"Hey," she repeated as she stood up. She was significantly shorter than Drew, so she had to look up at him. It only made her feel more nervous about seeing him than she already was.

"What are you doing here?" Drew asked. "I thought you were ignoring me."

"I was," Clare admitted as she pushed her hair out her face. She was trying her best to avoid any eye contact with Drew and she was rather successful in her attempt.

"Then what are you doing here?" he asked.

"I think we should talk," Clare said. "If you want to..." Drew nodded his head and tossed his jacket off to the side.

"Let's go up to my room. I think I'd kill myself if my parents came home and heard this conversation," he said. Clare nodded and the pair waltzed upstairs to his room. She was surprised that Drew's room was much neater than she had expected. After discovering Eli's hoarding, she was suspicious about entering another boy's bedroom. Drew's room wasn't in any way spotless, but it was comfortable. Instead of dark gray walls, Drew's walls were painted beige and meshed with the off white carpet. Behind a pile of clothes were some gaming systems, rather than a giant pile of comic books like she would've expected in Eli's room. The most noticeable difference was the tremendous amount of trophies that lined his dresser and computer desk. Clare curiously walked up to them and stared in awe as Drew watched her with a smile.

"Impressed?" he teased. She didn't say a word but reached for one trophy in particular that caught her attention. It was a small trophy and the date it said on it was January 2004. On the inscription it said in bold letters '**Little Einsteins Science Fair**'.

"A science trophy?" Clare asked. "How did you win this?" Drew held his breath for a second. He had been hoping she wouldn't notice it but somehow she did. Why was she so damn observant?

"That was my first trophy. It was fourth grade... I never won anything for school outside of sports outside afterwards. My dad wanted me to toughen up so, I did. My mom wasn't too fond of me ignoring schoolwork for sports though. That's when the fighting started..." Drew explained as he plopped onto his bed. Clare put the trophy down and sat down on his bed next to him, ready to hear the rest of the story.

"Do you feel okay continuing?" she asked quietly. Drew offered her a small smiled and nodded his head.

"Yeah... You see, my mom is really strict but she cares. My dad wasn't like that with me. He was just like I am now, and honestly, it scares the crap outta me that I'm just like him in a way. He's didn't give a crap about school and he just goofed off." Drew stopped to see Clare's reaction. She seemed genuinely interested so he went on. "My dad met my mom in his senior year, and she couldn't say no to the star quarter back right? So they dated but they always fought. They broke up and I think my mom almost dated Omar after like, their third or fourth break up, but my dad won her over somehow. And they've been a love-hate relationship since then. Well not now because she hates him, but I know she still loves him deep down. Hell, even after all the things he's done to me, I still love him."

"What about your dad?" Clare asked. "Does he still show you he cares?"

"Last time I saw him... Yeah. He was pretty messed up. He had some serious mental issues but he never got help, even up until now," Drew explained. He laughed to himself softly. "Actually, last time I saw him, he apologized to me for all the mistakes he made."

"I'm glad to hear that," Clare said. "But what did your dad do that was so bad?"

"He was drug addict. Ever since I can remember. He would go out of his way to snort coke when my mom was going out with girlfriends so she wouldn't notice. She found out when I was ten. It made the fighting snowball out of control after that. I think that was the thing that pushed my mom over the edge and made her divorce him. I knew it was coming for a while so when they got divorced the year after, I wasn't surprised. Actually, I was relieved." Drew sounded odd, as if he just said something he shouldn't have. Clare placed a hand on his shoulder and rubbed it needed support and that's what she was there for.

"If you want to stop talking about it now, it's fine," she whispered. "I know it can't be easy to just tell me all these things that you've never told anyone before."

"It's cool," Drew said as he sighed softly. "But..."

"But what?" Clare asked.

"My dad isn't the only one who did some messed up stuff. I'm sorry if I made you feel pressured to kiss me back or if I made you feel uncomfortable or anything. Really, I am." Drew's blue eyes were staring directly into Clare's and she knew he was being absolutely sincere with her. She leaned closer to him and gave him a hug, lingering for just a little bit longer than necessary.

"You're already forgiven," she said. Drew smiled at Clare and put his trophy back where it belonged.

"You know, I'm glad you came to see me. Seriously... Clare, I'm crazy about you," Drew said. Clare stared at him in shock with her mouth slightly open. She hadn't been expecting him to say that but before she could think about the consequences, she blurted the first thing that came to her mind.

"I like you, Drew." There was a long pause and she placed her hand over her mouth. What the hell did she just do? How could she be stupid enough to say that? Was it even true?

"W-what?" Drew asked. Clare looked down at the floor and didn't say anything. Instead, she pushed her hair out of her face and avoided any eye contact with him. There was no taking back what she said.

"I'm so sorry," she said as she hopped off of his bed and walked towards the door. "I should go-"

"Wait!" Drew ran to Clare and caught her arm as he pressed his back to the door. "You can't keep walking out on me like this!"

"Drew, I have a boyfriend!" Clare shouted. "I can't..."

"Clare look at me," Drew demanded. She did as he said and he continued speaking. "I'm not stupid enough to try and make you do something you don't want to do again. But look at me! When I'm with you, this is real... I just wanted you to know that."

"That doesn't change anything," Clare said. "I'll see you at school okay?" Drew nodded sadly but before he let her go, he kissed her on the cheek softly. Stepping out o her way, Drew held the door open for a dazed Clare.

"Have it your way."

* * *

"Hey! Bianca, wait!" Alli shouted as she ran up to Bianca. The older girl looked at Alli confused. She had been wandering around town ever since she left Eli's house. Neither of them was really sure where their affair was going to lead, and Bianca was thinking of ways to prove to the gothic boy that she the best girl for him. It was much easier said than done.

"Well, if it isn't Boiler room Bhandari," Bianca snapped. "Looking for a fight or something? Because I've got things to do."

"No. I was kinda hoping you would help me. I need to break up a couple," Alli said.

"Why would I help you?" Bianca asked.

"Because Clare is cheating on Eli with Drew, and if you broke them up, you could have Drew all to yourself," the dark-skinned girl replied. Bianca thought it over for a moment. Drew and Clare getting together was a gross thought, but she could get Eli in on it too. Together, they'd get revenge on her for all the crap Clare was putting Eli through and Bianca might even get Eli to dump Clare for her, seeing as offering sex was enough to win him over.

"And what's it to you?" Bianca asked. "Jealous or something?"

"Are you going to help me or not?" Alli asked in an irritated voice. Bianca laughed knowing that the younger girl was avoiding the question on purpose.

"Fine," Bianca held out her hand and Alli shook it. "You've got yourself a deal Bhandari."


	9. Prelude to the Storm

**A/N: **Time for an update right? So I hope you like this chapter, and well, it's all gonna get more interesting from here and a lot of skipping around from scene to scene. And remember I want to see those beautiful reviews guys! **(P.S. Please also leave reviews on my other Degrassi fanfics! I'd appreciate it!)**

* * *

"Alli!" Clare shouted as she ran up to her best friend. "Alli, what are you going deaf? I've been calling you all weekend with no answer, you were absent yesterday and Monday, and now you don't hear me screaming your name down an empty hallway?"

"Oh," Alli averted her friend's gaze and rolled her eyes. Couldn't Clare take a hint? "You know how I hate Wednesdays."

"Yeah. And apparently Saturdays, Tuesdays and everything in between," Clare joked. Her dark haired friend didn't laugh and kept walking to her locker, leaving Clare confused. "What's the matter Alli?"

"What do you mean?" Alli asked. She still refused to keep eye contact with Clare. How could she be such a back stabber, going after Drew when she was with Eli? Alli was disgusted. Clare always reprimanded her when she did something wrong, but Clare was obviously nothing but a hypocrite. And a liar to boot.

"Well, for one thing I know this isn't how you act when you're in a good mood," Clare pointed out.

"Maybe I'm not in a good mood, ever thought of that?" the raven haired girl stated. Clare was surprised by her friend's outburst and continued her questioning.

"Did... did I do something?" Alli whipped around quickly and gave her friend a fake smile.

"Of course not. You never do anything wrong, right Saint Clare? I'm just in a bad mood alright?" Alli spat. Without waiting for a response, the darker girl continued on her way. Clare stared in shock, unable to move. What was that all about? She wanted to run after her friend, but decided to walk to her own locker instead. Alli wasn't the only one who had been giving Clare the cold shoulder. Eli had been M.I.A since Sunday and she couldn't get him to quite explain why. As Clare grabbed her books and put them into her bag, she noticed her boyfriend walking in her direction. A smile found its way across her lips immediately. She wasn't in any mood to argue though. Clare knew Eli had his moods and all she wanted was to talk to him. His witty remarks always made her day and there was not a doubt in her mind he wouldn't fail to cheer her up.

"Eli!" Clare exclaimed as she tried to give him a kiss. He pushed her back and as she looked up at him sadly, he explained.

"Sore throat. Can't risk getting you sick."

"Oh." Clare nodded, remembering the similar situation that had happened with KC before he left her Jenna. There wasn't any other girl Clare could picture Eli with, but that's what she thought with her last boyfriend. Sure, Eli never mentioned any other girls, but that didn't mean he didn't notice them, did it? No, she was just being silly, right? Eli would never leave her. Or would he? No, she was just being paranoid after the episode with Alli. Maybe Eli had just been feeling under the weather all week and he was just being protective of her as usual. At least, that's what she hoped anyway.

"You okay Clare?" Eli asked when he noticed that she had become much paler.

"Oh, uh... yeah. Of course, just spaced out."

"Oh," Eli said. There was an agonizing pause as the two stared at each other awkwardly. What on Earth was going on? Clare tried to give Eli a smile and quickly began talking if only to fill the silence.

"So, how was your weekend?" she asked. "You haven't called me since Saturday and you haven't really talked to me since."

"I already said I was sick," he snapped. Clare stared at him sadly and his expression quickly softened. "I'm sorry Clare... I'm still not feeling that great..."

"It's fine," she said. "Look, we can always just go to my place and relax after school."

"Thanks, but no thanks... I'm going straight home after school," Eli said. "Besides, aren't you still tutoring that kid?" Clare noticed that Eli's face grew more irritated when he mentioned Drew, but she brushed it off as his usual jealousy.

"I'll swing by after I'm done tutoring Drew today!" she piped. "We can watch a movie or something, and I'll bring you something to help with whatever you have."

"That's sweet and all, but I'd rather just be alone," Eli admitted. "Rain check?" Clare tried not to let her disappointment show as she nodded her head. What one Earth was going on? Had she done something seriously wrong lately? She didn't have much time to contemplate it as the bell rang and Eli waved her goodbye without even so much as a hug.

"Great," Clare mumbled. "Just how I wanted to start off my morning." The brunette walked sadly to her first period class, which was history without so much as a smile. As she sat down in her usual seat, she noticed a few girls giving her dirty looks and giggling. She hoped she was just being paranoid, but it was obvious they were talking about her. She could her one of them mention her name before the teacher walked in and told everyone to take their seats. It was official; she had obviously lost her mind.

* * *

"Hey Clare," Drew said as he ran up to her in the hallway. Fourth period had just ended, and Clare was having a tough time getting through her day. Between Alli and Eli ignoring her, she was at her wit's end.

"Hi Drew," Clare said with a forced smile. She hoped Drew wouldn't notice, but he did and he cocked his head to the side in confusion.

"Is something wrong?" he asked as he pouted. At that moment, a few students Clare knew fairly well walked by, giving her a few sneers, and even pointing and laughing. That was probably the twentieth time that had happened for the day. She was able to figure out that someone was spreading some dirty rumor about her, though she couldn't figure out what it was. Or who was spreading it, never mind what their motive was.

"What the hell was that?" Drew asked as he stared at the group like they were aliens. "Were they making fun of you or something?"

"I don't know... It's been happening all day," Clare muttered.

"What?" Drew shouted, causing Clare to flinch. "What are they saying about you?" Clare shrugged as she looked up at him distraught.

"I have no idea... And on top of that, Alli and Eli won't even talk to me..." Clare looked down and tried to fight back the tears in her eyes as Drew's eyes widened. He was glad Eli wasn't talking to Clare anymore, but Alli was a different story. No wonder she looked so upset! They day she needed someone the most, her boyfriend and her best friend up and abandoned her. Clare didn't deserve anything like that to happen to her. The football player gave Clare a tight hug before wiping the tears that were slipping down her cheeks.

"Don't cry Clare," Drew whispered. "Listen, instead of tutoring, let's go out today, just you and me okay? Anywhere you wanna go." Clare sniffled and gave him a warm smile.

"That sounds great," Clare said. Drew smiled back.

"Hey, you deserve it," he replied. "If it weren't for you, I'd probably still be failing math. Speaking of which..." Before Clare could ask a follow up question, Drew dug into his book bag and pulled out a white sheet of paper and eagerly pointed at the grade at the top in red ink. Clare smiled as she saw the B+ Drew had managed to get on his math quiz due to all the cramming the two of them had been doing.

"That's wonderful!" Clare said as she gave Drew another hug. He lifted the small sophomore in his arms and twirled her around happily as she giggled with joy. It was funny how a few minutes ago, she had been so upset, but Drew managed to turn her bad mood around.

"I couldn't have done this without you!" Drew said as he put Clare back on her feet. She blushed but before she could respond to the blue eyed boy she heard someone clear their throat behind her. Clare whipped her head around and saw it was Eli, looking darkly at the pair.

"Eli! Drew got a B+ on his quiz. Isn't that great?" she asked, trying to be casual. Her boyfriend ignored her and kept eye contact with Drew, who was smirking.

"Yeah. The Neanderthal got lucky because he didn't get caught cheating, huh?" Eli spat.

"Eli!" Clare shrieked as she slapped his arm. "He worked hard for that grade!"

"You mean his neighbor probably worked hard," Eli corrected.

"Whatever dude. I don't care if you wanna start shit with me, but Clare's been having a crappy day, so don't take your issues out on her okay?" Drew threatened. Eli laughed in disbelief. Was Drew actually challenging him? Well, he wouldn't take that lying down.

"I don't need advice on how to treat my girlfriend from the least wanted guy at Degrassi," Eli said. Drew rolled his eyes at the shorter boy.

"I really don't know what you see in him Clare," Drew admitted. Her eyes widened in shock. The look Drew gave her sent chills down her spine; at first it was fear from the rage in his expression, but it was quickly replaced by the heart wrenching pain she felt when she saw the heartbreak in his eyes. It finally dawned on her at that moment. Adam was right. Drew really did have feelings for her, and it was eating him alive to see her in Eli's arms.

"Excuse her if she has actual taste in guys and doesn't settle for scum like you," Eli growled as he took a step toward Drew with clenched fists. Clare finally broke her silence and stepped between the two boys, holding them as far apart as she could manage.

"Stop it Eli," she hissed. "I don't know if you're sick or what, but I do know that you're acting absolutely ridiculous right now."

"So you're siding with him, huh?" Eli demanded. "I'm your boyfriend Clare. You're supposed be there for me."

"You mean like how you were there for me just now when I was crying? Oh wait, that was _Drew_." Clare crossed her arms over her chest to make her point clearer.

"Clare-"

"No Eli. Whenever you're going through something, I'm there for you. Did you even know that Alli's been ignoring me for almost a week? You didn't even call me back, or leave me a message. Nothing at all! Drew's been better to me in the last four minutes than you've been to me in a long time!"

"I'm sorry..." Eli tried to hug her, but Clare pushed his arms away.

"I don't know what you're going through right now, but whatever you're dealing with right now... Deal with it by yourself," Clare said. She looked at Eli angrily before she turned on her heel and walked off from the two boys.

* * *

"Hi Clare," Drew said as he draped an arm around her. The final bell rang a few minutes ago and everyone was heading out of school. Clare smiled but shyly wiggled out of Drew's grasp, causing the older boy to frown.

"I know what I told you on Saturday, and I know Eli and I are fighting but... I could never do that to him." Drew's expression fell almost immediately as he sighed. It was almost painful to hear her say that knowing that Eli had no problem cheating on her with Bianca.

"He's only going to hurt you Clare," Drew assured her. "Trust me; he's not a good guy."

"Is there something going on that I don't know about?" she asked in a fearful tone. She remembered what Adam had warned her about not too long ago; maybe he and Drew were talking about the same thing... Maybe Eli was avoiding her and being so aggressive with Drew because of some huge problem that the Torres brothers knew about... But why would he be avoiding her? After all, she was with him through so much, what could be so bad that he didn't want to be around her, and both Adam and Drew were worried about her getting hurt? Clare bit her lip and looked at Drew, waiting for a response to her question but he merely shrugged his shoulders cluelessly as if he didn't know what she could possibly mean.

"... I just want you to be happy, and I don't think he's doing such a great job is all," Drew said. She smiled sweetly at him and blushed. Maybe he was right... What was she thinking? She loved Eli! At least she thought she did... Then Drew had to come and make everything so complicated. She sighed loudly as she brushed her hair back carelessly.

"Thanks Drew but... I'm just really confused and stressed right now," Clare admitted with a huff.

"Well, let's go out somewhere!" he exclaimed. "Do you have anywhere in mind?"

"I was thinking The Dot to get some coffee and then going to my house maybe?" she suggested. Drew gave Clare a wide smile.

"Sounds great!" he said.

"But first, can you come with me really quick? Luke asked me to meet him after school," Clare said.

"Luke?"

"He's part of the Friendship club," she stated as she lead Drew down a hallway to where the Friendship club usually met up. Sure enough, Luke was waiting outside the classroom with a strictly business look on his face. His eyes softened a bit when he noticed Clare, but he didn't let his stern look fall. Drew cocked an eyebrow at Luke, but Clare gave him smile as if to say 'He's always like that.' Drew didn't seem to be less annoyed. Luke seemed like he was going to tell Clare something less than ideal, and it didn't help that he was giving Drew a negative vibe either.

"Hi Luke," Clare said. "I'm sorry I've been missing meetings, it's just that I-"

"We all know. That must be Drew right?" Luke asked as he pointed at the tall, lean brunette. Drew nodded his head in confusion.

"Yeah... why do you ask?" Drew questioned.

"Clare, I didn't want to jump to any conclusions but, I can't deny what I'm seeing right now with my very eyes. You've been with Drew this past week correct?" Luke asked.

"Well, yeah but for tutoring..." she said with a suspicious look.

"That's not what we've heard..." Luke said with a sigh.

"I beg your pardon?"

"You were such a role model before your parent's divorce... Then you started rebelling, questioning His plan... You should know better than anyone that fornication is a sin. And your poor boyfriend Eli? He must be crushed." Clare gasped in disbelief. That explained so much. Why Alli and Eli hated her. Why everyone was whispering when she walked into a room. Someone spread a nasty rumor that she and Drew were having sex. But who would do that to her?

"I would never!" Clare exclaimed. "Who told you that?"

"Everyone at Degrassi knows. I'm sorry about this but until you repent for all your sins, the rest of the club and I have decided that you need to give up your abstinence ring. Perhaps when things at home blow over, and your life becomes more, um... stable," Luke said, choosing his words carefully to not insult Clare anymore than he already had, "Then you'll feel ready to rejoin us and be forgiven." Clare bit her lip and shook her head in disbelief. She couldn't find the strength to talk anymore, so she did as she was asked and gave up her abstinence ring.

"Here," she mumbled.

"Peace be with you," Luke said. Clare turned sharply on her heel and pushed past Drew, who swiftly followed her down the hallway as she stormed out of Degrassi.

"Clare!" Drew shouted as he chased her out the doors of Degrassi. "Talk to me!"

"Leave me alone!" she shouted back. Instead of doing what he was told, Drew ran up to Clare and kept pace with her so she couldn't ignore him.

"Why'd you give your ring up to him?" Drew demanded. "You know you didn't do anything wrong!"

"It doesn't matter!" she screamed as more tears flowed from her eyes. "It's _your_ fault! It's all your fault why all of Degrassi thinks I'm some kind of floozy! I should've just let you fail math! You're nothing but trouble Drew! You're ruining my relationship with Eli, you've destroyed my friendship with Alli, and you've tainted my reputation! You're ruining my life!" Drew took a step towards her and she braced herself for his rebuttal. Instead, she felt his arms wrap around her waist. Why was he comforting her? She had just yelled at him and insulted him. She knew Eli would've argued back. But Drew simply held her in his arms and let her cry, until she eventually hugged back.

"I know you'd never sleep around with anybody," Drew whispered as he dried her tears with his thumb. "And if Eli's stupid enough to believe that garbage, I say, forget him."

"But... but..."

"Come on Clare," Drew said as he intertwined his fingers with hers. Clare was about to protest against it, but she couldn't care anymore. She felt far too numb. "Let's just go straight to your place." She nodded her head and the two of them hopped into his car. The ride there was silent, minus the few times Clare exhaled to keep herself from crying again. When they finally reached Clare's house, Drew parked and stepped out, motioning for her to do the same. The pair walked silently up the front steps of the house and Clare unlocked the door, allowing them inside.

"Are you feeling any better?" Drew asked. Clare shrugged her shoulders carelessly as she walked into her living room and sat down on the couch. Drew did the same and stared at her, though she avoided his gaze.

"I've made such a huge mess of things," she mumbled. Drew scoffed a cracked a smile.

"You didn't make any mistakes Clare. Someone else did by messing with you. Everyone's going to find out that they're nothing but a lying idiot and it'll all go back to normal," Drew said.

"Not just that Drew... I'm so sorry for what I'm doing to you right now. It's unfair to you," Clare said.

"It's okay," Drew whispered.

"No it's not," Clare said solemnly. "I know that you like me and I keep acting like I'm going to give you a shot-"

"So you're not?"

"Well, what I mean is I shouldn't be stringing you along while I'm with Eli," she stated.

"Even though you have feelings for me?" Drew pointed out. Clare blushed profusely and looked down at the ground.

"Drew, please."

"No way Clare. You're too damn amazing for me to just forget about you. I like you a lot okay? More than this 'just friends' bullshit. And you like me too, so what's wrong here?" he demanded.

"I have a boyfriend," Clare stated tiredly. Drew rolled his eyes. How many times was she going to make that excuse? But, it gave him some satisfaction knowing that due to Eli's little secret, it wouldn't be long until that was invalid.

"That doesn't change how I feel about you. Or how you feel about me," Drew said plainly. Clare bit her lip tenderly. He was right, even if it was twisted.

"Just because Eli and I are fighting, doesn't mean I want to cheat on him with you. It's just a crush Drew, you'll get over me," she assured him, though she had to convince herself that the same was true for her feelings for him.

"But what if I don't?" Drew asked. Clare looked up at him with sad eyes and shrugged.

"I honestly don't know Drew." He sighed as he stared at her silently. How could someone so close be so out of reach? It was too frustrating to be around here, he had to get away from her, even if it was for only a second.

"Whatever Clare," Drew said. "I should probably just go home now."

"Drew, wait!" Clare said. Drew had started walking to the front door, so she jumped up in an attempt to catch him before he could leave.

"No," Drew said as he shook the small brunette girl off of him. "Just... just let me go, okay?" Clare watched sadly as Drew walked out the door and it finally hit her. She cared much more about Drew than she originally let on, and watching him leave tore her apart inside.

* * *

"I'm guessing you're the one who started that rumor, huh Bhandari?" Bianca asked as the younger girl sipped her coffee at The Dot. Alli looked around nervously before she looked back up at Bianca and nodded. The curly haired brunette smirked. Alli was sneakier than she gave her credit for, and it was pretty interesting to watch.

"You'd be amazed at how fast gossip spreads when you write something on a post-it and leave it in the girl's bathroom," Alli admitted. Bianca snorted. Alli was smart enough to spread the rumor in a way that would be close to impossible to trace it back to her. She was way smarter than Bianca gave her credit for.

"Well, I applaud your effort but that's pretty weak," Bianca said. "I mean come on, she, Eli and Drew all know it's a lie. It'll only work on Eli because he's the jealous type. It'll push them apart, but it'll only bring Clare and Drew closer together." Alli's eyes widened. She hadn't thought of that little part of her plan.

"Okay... So what should I do then?" she asked quietly.

"Well, you got Eli mad at her so now, you gotta get Drew pissed at her too," Bianca replied.

"And how do I do that?" Alli asked. Bianca rolled her eyes. She really had to spell everything out for the little twerp, didn't she?

"Make Drew think he has a chance with Clare. Really make it seem like she's crazy about him. Then you let her be the one to break his heart. Even he won't put up with some little brat toying with his emotions," Bianca explained. Alli nodded her head in understanding.

"I never thought I'd say this but... thank you Bianca," Alli said with a smile.

"My pleasure," Bianca replied with a devious smirk.

* * *

"Drew, you're not paying attention to the work, are you?" Clare asked plainly from where she was sitting. He shook his head no. Well, at least he was honest, she'd give him that. "Drew!" He sighed but didn't make any visible effort to pay attention.

"I'm sorry," he mumbled. "It's just really hard to focus right now." He fiddled with his pencil in his fingers and looked up at Clare quickly. She tried not to smile but failed miserably when her eyes met Drew's. It had been a while since the two of them just went to library to study, and they managed to waste an hour doing nothing.

"And what would help you focus better?" Clare asked.

"Well, maybe a kiss..." Drew smirked as Clare rolled her eyes.

"Ha ha."

"Clare, you can't keep ignoring this," Drew said. "You can't keep pretending that we don't like each other."

"Don't go there right now," she warned with dark eyes. "Eli and I are already on bad terms right now and I don't need the stress." Drew leaned closer to Clare and in turn, she scooted away in her seat. He held onto her chair and leaned closer again, then quickly threw his arms around her waist to keep her from getting up.

"No! You keep saying all this crap about you and Eli... But what about you and me? That's what _I_ want to talk about," Drew said as he nuzzled Clare's neck. She wiggled as much as she could but she wasn't strong enough to break his grip on her. She was glad that they were in a secluded part of the library so no one would see what Drew was doing. Clare gave up on trying to escape and gave in, sitting still in her seat while Drew hummed in her ear. As pleasant as it was, she couldn't forget about Eli, who was seated firmly in the back of her mind.

"Cut it out okay? There is no you and me!" Clare said bitterly.

"But that's not what you want, is it?" Drew asked. Clare huffed loudly. He had a way of asking all the hard questions. What, or rather who, did she want? Drew or Eli?

"I don't know what I want okay?" she admitted. "I thought I wanted Eli, but then you came into the picture..." Drew nodded his head and let go of his grip on Clare and held her hands in his soothingly. He silenced her with a piercing gaze and she felt her heart race faster. She couldn't find it in her to tell him to move or stop. How did she get herself into such a sticky situation?

"If it's worth anything, all I want is _you_," Drew whispered. Clare smiled faintly and looked back down at the open textbook. She didn't want him to see her blush, but it was obvious to Drew. He smiled at her as she tried to avert his eyes. She really was beautiful, but she wasn't him. Drew didn't speak, fearing that anything he said would make the moment disappear, but Clare took the initiative to do so. As she opened her mouth to speak, her phone vibrated in her pants pocket, her boyfriend's name flashed across the screen.

"It's Eli," she muttered. Drew groaned.

"Of course it is." She was about to answer it but after taking a look at Drew's crestfallen expression, she switched it off and shoved it back into her pocket. Drew looked shocked but Clare played it off as if it was nothing.

"I want to give you my undivided attention," she declared as she rested her hands in her chin. Drew's smile only widened.

"You have no idea how great that sounds," he said happily.

* * *

"Eli?" Clare asked as she noticed her boyfriend giving her s somewhat angry look. She was shocked that he was still in school so late; it was already 6:30 and she and Drew had just left the library a few minutes ago. What had started out as a tutoring session quickly turned into a game of 20 questions, which turned into a game of truth or dare, which turned into a series of anecdotes. Clare had to admit, when she wasn't so stressed out about Eli, she actually had quite a bit of fun with Drew. The duo didn't get much studying done, but she had fun, even if it meant ticking Eli off in the process. Clare knew he would be annoyed that she ignored his calls, but she thought she'd have a little more time to let Eli cool off.

"Why haven't you been answering me?" he demanded.

"What?" she squeaked. She hadn't expected him to yell at her right of the bat.

"I called you twelve times and you ignored every single one. I had to make sure you were okay," he stated simply. "So, where's Drew?"

"He went home a while ago," Clare replied. He had only left about 5 minutes ago, but Eli didn't need to know that.

"Good," Eli said. "I don't want you hang out with him anymore." Clare frowned at her boyfriend, who had a scowl of his own on his face. What was up with him lately? When he wasn't ignoring her, he was getting in her face about Drew. Maybe that was what Drew and Adam meant, Eli's passive-aggressiveness.

"And why would that be?" she inquired. Eli laughed as if it were a stupid question.

"Can't you see what that idiot is doing to us? He's driving a wedge between us-" Clare cut off Eli immediately.

"Don't call him an idiot!" she said sharply. "You've been nothing but rude to him and Drew's been there for me when you haven't!"

"You see!" Eli exclaimed. "This is what I'm talking about! He's getting in your head; making you think I'm the bad guy here when it's him!"

"That's not the way I see it," Clare muttered.

"It's not about you Clare, it's about us!" Eli said. She rolled her baby blue eyes in annoyance.

"Well, I'm part of 'us', and if I want to talk to Drew, I will," she said. She gave Eli a look to prove she wasn't backing down, but he didn't seem fazed. He laughed a dry hollow laugh and shook his head.

"You see that Clare? He's already confusing you," Eli came closer to her and cupped her face in his hands and kissed her lips softly. Clare blinked a few times, dazed. How had he gone from yelling to kissing? She was too confused to even process any type of romantic feelings for him. In fact, all she wanted was to push him off of her. "I love you Clare. I'm just looking out for you." She shook her head and pushed his hands away from her, stepping back to increase the space between them. He watched her sadly as she walked away.

"I'm a big girl Eli," Clare said confidently. "I can look out for myself."


	10. Giving In

**A/N: Very important please read! **I made a twitter account specifically for you guys since some people have been requesting other means of messaging me. So go on my profile, click the link to my twitter and follow me! Thanks! I love you guys! Also, special shout out to WaitCait705 who always leaves me wonderful reviews on every chapter!

* * *

"Drew... You look like you've been hit by a truck," Adam noted as his older brother walked downstairs to the breakfast table. Drew rolled his eyes and opened the fridge, only to grab a bottle of water. He cursed under his breath and grabbed an apple as well. He was too exhausted to make himself breakfast. He had spent the entire night thinking about Clare, and the more he thought about her, the more it hurt him. How did he let himself for so hard, so fast for her? Honestly, the whole situation was driving him crazy. How did she manage to get such a hold on him? And then there was Eli... Drew couldn't find an ounce of sympathy for Eli. In fact, he couldn't wait until Eli told Clare about Bianca. Then maybe, just maybe...

"Drew!" Adam broke his older brother out of his thoughts and back to reality.

"H-huh?" The older of the Torres brothers blinked a few times in confusion. "Sorry Adam... I didn't get much sleep last night..."

"I can tell. Nightmares?" Adam asked as he munched on some cereal.

"You could say that." Drew decided it would be easier to say that rather than explaining the entire situation to Adam. He yawned loudly and stretched his back. Jeez, why were all his muscles so stiff?

"Is it because of... well, you know... your dad's birthday coming up?" Adam asked quietly. Drew tensed noticeably before guzzling his bottle of water and chomping down on his apple.

"No. Why?" he demanded defensively. Adam knew Drew hated when anyone acknowledged the existence of his father which was why no one ever brought it up. But, given how Drew was telling Clare about his father, Adam thought it safe to assume that the topic was safe to talk about. He was obviously mistaken.

"Just asking. I thought since Clare knows I could ask about it too..." Adam let his voice trail off as Drew shot him a death glare.

"Yeah, well Clare doesn't know everything. He's messed up alright? He made some bad choices and that's why my mom left him," Drew explained.

"Well everyone makes bad choices Drew. You're the king of making bad, impulsive decisions," Adam replied, earning himself a glare from Drew. "You of all people should know that people learn from their mistakes and can change."

"People like him don't change, okay? My dad isn't like yours, my dad is screwed up!" Drew yelled. Adam looked surprised by his brother's outburst but stayed quiet. Without another word Drew grabbed his book bag and slung it on his back before he stormed out of the house. He felt bad for yelling at his younger brother, but Adam shouldn't have provoked him like that.

Drew was only running on about three hours worth of sleep, an apple, and a bottle of water. It was Friday, but he just wanted the day to be over. As Drew walked to school, he couldn't help but think about his father's birthday. It had been a while since he'd seen his father; almost six years to be exact. What made Adam think he was just going to go over to Brampton and wish his father a happy birthday? Was he supposed to just barge in out of the blue and say, 'Happy birthday dad! Even though I think you're a jackass who'd be better off dead, you still deserve a visit from the person whose life you almost destroyed!'? That was a pretty absurd thought. Before Drew could really divulge into his thoughts, he heard his name being called.

"Hey Drew," Clare said as she waved at him. He smiled meekly and waved back before he walked over to the front steps of Degrassi to meet up with Clare.

"Hi Clare," Drew said. She frowned at him when she realized how tired he looked and rubbed his shoulder soothingly.

"You look exhausted Drew... Are you sick?" Drew huffed. He must've looked like a wreck if everyone kept asking him that question.

"No. I didn't get nearly enough sleep..." he replied. She nodded her head and gave him a small smile.

"Anything you want to talk about? It's been a while since we've had an actual conversation," Clare said. Drew growled under his breath and kept his jaw stiff in an attempt to stop himself from yelling at Clare the way he yelled at Adam.

"I'm not in the mood to talk about it," he said.

"Are you sure?" Clare asked

"Yes Clare, now just drop it okay?" he said angrily. Clare looked at him sadly but decided to just let it go.

"Fine… I'll see you later," she said as she walked off. Drew watched her as she left him and was even more annoyed when he saw that she was walking towards Eli's hearse. Why did she like such a dark, brooding kid? Clare and Eli just weren't compatible; everyone could see that except the two of them. Sure, maybe he wasn't the best match for her either but he was sure he was a much better match for her than Dr. Doom.

Drew chuckled at his own stupidity. Of course he thought he had some special right to be with Clare; he was just like his father. But unlike his father, he wouldn't let anyone or anything come before the girl of his dreams.

As Drew gave another look at Clare and Eli, he noticed that the pair seemed to be in an argument with one another. Clare had her arms crossed over her chest and Eli's body was incredibly tense. After a few faint shouts, Clare stormed away from Eli. Drew had half a mind to chase after her, but he refrained. He had his own problems to deal with.

As if problems seemed to enjoy his company, he felt someone jab him as soon as he entered the school building. Drew turned to look over his shoulder, ready to verbally attack whoever it was. Seeing that it was KC who tapped him, so Drew was slightly less aggravated. Best friends were allowed to be a pain every now and then.

"Way to go Drew," KC said with a grin. "I heard you and Clare have been hooking up." Drew rolled his eyes. The last thing he wanted was a stupid rumor buzzing around about him and Clare.

"She's dating someone else right now. You know that right?" Drew asked, trying to keep his voice calm.

"I know that part was a lie but..." KC smiled as he looked around cautiously to make sure no one was around. "Last week Clare came up to me and made it pretty clear that she's losing interest in Eli. Not to mention that they've been fighting non-stop since this rumor got started."

"Seriously dude?" Drew's eyes lit up. Maybe he did have a chance. No... He was just getting his hopes up for nothing as usual.

"Yeah. I had no idea that you liked her though... I mean... I guess we have similar taste!" KC joked. Drew gave his best friend a smile.

"I guess we do. Thanks for the heads up KC," Drew said as he and KC did their usual handshake before going to their first period classes. Drew had health first period and always hated how awkward the class was. Between the immature snickering and uncomfortable talks about sex, Drew would rather just skip the class altogether. His only motivation for going was the easy A it gave him to help bolster his average. He slid into his seat and waited for class to start, doodling in his notebook to pass the time. Eventually, the bell rang and the health teacher, Mr. Samuels, a pale, scrawny man with thick, curly, red hair began to start the lesson.

"Alright class. Today I want to try a little activity. I'm going to hand out these folded index cards," he said as he held one up for a visual. "Each one has something written on it. Don't open them until I give you further instructions." Mr. Samuels passed out index cards to every student before continuing. "Now open your card and read what's written on it to yourself. Drew rolled his eyes and read his index card to himself. In thick black letters it read:

**You suffer from anorexia and bulimia.**

Drew stared blankly at the piece of paper before looking around the class. That was so depressing... What did that have to do with anything?

"Okay, now some of you have dark secrets written on your cards. Those are the ones written in black. Everyone else has something not as dreadful written in blue ink. Right now, you can't tell which students have a dark secret right now, can you?" Mr. Samuels asked. The students shook their heads. "Exactly. Now everyone who has a dark secret please stand up." Drew stood up reluctantly as well as four other students. Mr. Samuels pointed at a blonde girl in the front of the room and motioned for her to share her secret. Drew knew the girl tried out for cheerleading but didn't make the cut. That didn't stop her from attending a few football games every now and then. He was almost certain her name was Dahlia, but he wasn't entirely sure.

"When I was younger, I was sexually abused," she read. Everyone's eyes widened as she said that. The teacher nodded and pointed to a darker skinned boy a few seats behind her.

"I cut myself for the past year and a half," he said. Mr. Samuels then pointed at Drew, he sighed.

"Mr. Samuels... Mine is kind of... girly..." Drew said as he cringed.

"These things can happen to anyone Andrew," Mr. Samuels said, addressing Drew by his full name. Annoyed, Drew rolled his eyes and read the index card aloud.

"I suffer from anorexia and bulimia," he mumbled. A few of the guys in the class laughed to themselves.

"Aw, poor little Drew's too fat for his football jersey?" one boy commented. Drew angrily took his seat as they continued to mock him until Mr. Samuels stepped in.

"Actually, you'd be surprised to know that almost 15% of people with an eating disorder are male. Anorexia and bulimia are no laughing matter gentlemen." The class was silent again and Drew went back to doodling in his notebook. Maybe his teacher had a point. Nobody knew why he hated his father so much or why he didn't like talking about him… Drew sighed. Thinking about his father was the most stressful thing in the world. As his mind was consumed with thoughts about his father and Clare, he suddenly wished he had the attention span to focus on anything else.

* * *

"Clare, are you going to sit with me and Adam?" Eli asked. He wasn't smiling, but he wasn't yelling either, which was a drastic change from earlier that morning when he had been jumping down her throat for still talking to Drew.

"I'll pass," she said calmly, averting his gaze. Eli held onto her by her elbow, but she quickly wiggled out of his grasp.

"Clare, you're overreacting," Eli whispered. She had to laugh at that. She wasn't the one being clingy and possessive; he was.

"When you get over your little problem with Drew, then we can talk. Until then, I don't need this, alright Eli?" Clare walked away from her boyfriend and sat at a table by herself. She cracked open a book to keep herself entertained, not even giving Eli a second glance. He was such an idiot for cheating on her with Bianca, and now he only had one week before he probably lost her forever. No matter what he did, he'd lose Clare. Eli sighed inwardly at what he was about to do, but he scanned the cafeteria until he saw a familiar head of brown curls. Bianca was sitting on a table with Owen by her side. If he was going to get caught anyway, he might as well have fun with it. Eli sauntered up to Bianca and didn't even give Owen a second glance as he sat down next to them.

"Hey B," he said with his usual smug smile. Bianca's eyes seemed to light up as soon as she heard his voice. They hadn't talked much since the day she went over to his house and they spent almost two hours worth of kissing on his living room couch.

"Long time, no see," Bianca stated with a flirtatious smirk as Eli sat next to her. He shrugged his shoulders carefully in an attempt to be nonchalant, but failed miserably. Bianca rolled her eyes. She had seen the argument between Eli and Clare, so she knew why he had come to her. She gave Owen a look that made him leave the two of them alone before she turned back to the goth.

"It sucks that she doesn't listen to you," Bianca said. "If you asked me to stay away from Drew, I would... Guess she just can't resist..."

"If you're trying to take advantage of me, it's not going to work," Eli said with his famous smirk.

"Oh darn Eli," Bianca said with obvious sarcasm. "What ever will I do?"

"Cute," he remarked with a genuine smile. It was funny, he hadn't couldn't smile around Clare anymore, but smiling came as naturally as breathing when he was with Bianca.

"Aren't I always?" she retorted. Eli snorted. No wonder he liked hanging out with Bianca. She was a pretty witty person and she didn't take life too seriously. In an odd kind of way, he could see himself with her, despite what he had told her. Sure, she was no Clare, but she was her own person and that was enough to make her worth something to him. It was strangely reassuring that he wasn't just hooking up with a random girl... It was possible that he could have feelings for Bianca, even if he wasn't sure if he did at that exact moment.

"Bianca, can I be honest with you?" Eli asked. Confused, she nodded.

"You better be Goldsworthy," she said.

"I'm not sure how I feel about you, but I'm going to tell Clare about this whole situation," he explained. "I know she's going to be really upset when she finds out, but she deserves to know."

"Really?" Bianca looked somewhat pleased. "And what about us? I know you're no where near over her, but are you still testing the waters with me?"

"If you're okay with not being in a serious relationship," Eli said. "I don't see why not."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah... I don't know if I like you but, you were right. I need to relax and I want to relax with _you_." Bianca looked at Eli with wide eyes. Did he actually just say what she thought he said? She tried not to let her excitement show, but Eli could see the pure elation in her eyes. Weird, he'd never seen her look at another guy like that before.

Interpreting her silence as happiness, Eli quickly looked over his shoulder to make sure Clare couldn't see them from where she was sitting before he pulled Bianca by the hand and led her out of the cafeteria. He walked through the hallway before he ducked into the nearest staircase with Bianca on his heels. She didn't protest as he led her upstairs and guided her slim figure so she was pressed against the bright yellow lockers.

Without giving her a chance to think, he kissed her as hard as he could. His hands fit naturally onto her waist and her arms wrapped snuggly around his neck. If he didn't know any better, he would've thought they made a cute couple. His lips didn't leave hers, but his hands found themselves moving from her waist, to the small of her back, then to the flawless skin on her cheeks. He hated to admit it, but if there was anyone he wanted to get caught cheating with, it was definitely Bianca. She pulled back from him and smiled widely.

"So you're really giving up on her?" Bianca asked hopefully as she looked up into Eli's green eyes. He stared back into Bianca's own amber eyes and pressed his forehead to hers.

"I-I don't know..." he admitted stupidly. Bianca leaned forward and lightly brushed her lips against his. The act itself was innocent enough, but being with Bianca was anything but. Still, she was trying and that was something. Eli kissed her again, letting his lips linger on hers. The disgust he felt for cheating on Clare was easy to mask with the pleasure he got from kissing Bianca. It was a truly vicious cycle he had gotten himself into. She pulled away from him and looked up into his eyes again. She actually looked pretty staring up at him like that.

"Won't it be worth it though?" Bianca asked. "To finally have a clean slate?" Eli pondered that for a brief moment. She made a good point, he'd give her that.

"That does sound pretty good right about now," he said with a faint smile. Bianca beamed up at him as she pressed her lips to his yet again. Eli couldn't deny one thing, kissing Bianca was pretty addicting. It wasn't like kissing Clare where everything was sweet and cute. Bianca was a match and he was a burning flame. Together they were a dangerous pair. He felt himself deepening the kiss, though it seemed more like a reflex and less like a choice. Bianca's hands were tangled in his hair as if she was trying to pull him closer to her, which was impossible at that point. He broke the kiss for only a moment to catch his breath before he continued to peck her lips. Why weren't the kisses he and Clare shared like that?

"You know, it's pretty hard to believe that you don't have any feelings for me when you keep kissing me like that," Bianca pointed out. Eli cocked an eyebrow at her and smirked.

"Maybe you're getting a little ahead of yourself," he replied.

"Maybe you forgot, I don't give up without a fight Goldsworthy," she said as she brushed some of her hair from her face. Eli rolled his eyes.

"I'm so scared," he said sarcastically. Bianca leaned dangerously close to him so that he could feel her breath against his skin. Her fingertips grazed over his chest, with only his red polo shirt to act as a barrier between them. She pressed her lips against his neck, kissing his jaw line and sending shivers down his back. Eli held his breath. Whatever Bianca was doing, it was driving him absolutely crazy.

"You should be," she said with a smirk.

* * *

"Home already?" Omar asked as he noticed Drew walk into the house and head into the kitchen. Drew nodded at his step father as he threw his bag under the table. He wasn't hungry even though he hadn't eaten anything all day. Thinking about his father had a way of making him lose his appetite.

"It's been a long day," Drew explained as he headed up to his room before Omar could ask him anymore questions. All he wanted was to be left alone. Why did Adam have to bring up his father's birthday? He had enough stress to deal with, considering the whole Eli and Clare situation. Then there was the less urgent matter of his grades. What made his younger step brother think that bringing it up was a good idea?

Drew turned on his laptop and singed into FaceRange. Nothing important was happening, not that he was expecting anything in particular. After a few minutes of going through his news feed, he finally stopped and clicked on the search bar, debating what name to put into the bar. Against his better judgment, he typed in a capital 'C' and it automatically suggested Clare's name. As he debated whether or not to go to her page, he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket.

_One new message: Clare._

Drew was confused as to why she would be texting him, but he didn't want to question it. It was better than nothing after all.

_Drew! Where r u? I haven't seen you since this morning :(_

Drew contemplated what to say for a moment before he typed back a response.

_I'm at my house. Were you looking for me?_

It was only a moment until Clare replied back.

_Yea... You seemed off today..._

He wanted Clare to drop the subject, but didn't want to lose his temper at the same time. After thinking it over, he finally sent her another text.

_Well, you&Eli didn't seem so hot today either..._

It took less than a minute for Clare to text him back.

_I know. He's been intense lately... And my parents have been getting worse about their divorce..._

Drew felt bad. How could he not have sympathy for Clare?

_Jeez Clare, rough week huh?_

After a few moments, she sent her reply.

_Really rough. Do you wanna hang out? I need to get away from my parents. They're driving me nuts!_

Drew laughed to himself.

_Sure. How does the dot sound? I'll pick you up in a few.._

Almost instantly, Clare sent her response.

_That sounds great. See you soon! :)_

With that, Drew got off of his bed and walked to the bathroom, putting the shower on high. He really felt like staying inside, but he couldn't say no to Clare either. After taking a quick shower and drying his hair, Drew put on a pair of jeans and a light green button up shirt. He checked his phone for the time; it was a quarter to 4. Usually he wouldn't have ever been home that early on a Friday. He was glad Clare gave him a reason to leave the house. He jogged downstairs and put on his sneakers before he ran to his car.

"Drew?" Adam said as he walked towards his older brother. "Where are you going? I was looking for you."

"I'm going to hang out with Clare," Drew replied.

"Oh. I wanted to hang out with you," Adam said. "You know, I kind of owe you an apology for this morning..." Drew inhaled deeply to keep calm.

"Dude, whatever okay? The past is the past. You're already forgiven," he stated as he brushed past his younger brother.

"That's great but I really think we should talk about this Drew. I mean, if you're this pissed about your dad when you talk to me, what are you going to be like when Clare asks you about him? And let's be honest, we both know she's going to ask," Adam said.

"Shut up!" Drew shouted. "Just stop talking about him already! I told you to just let it go!"

"This is what I mean," Adam exclaimed. "I'm just worried... Afraid you might snap when you're with Clare... What if you can't control yourself...?"

"Don't tell me crap about me not being able to control myself Adam," Drew said through clenched teeth. His eyes were shining with tears that he refused to let fall. "I am _not_ my father."

"So what did he do that was so horrible?" Adam pleaded. "If you keep acting like it never happened, it's only going to get worse!"

"I can deal with it. I don't need you," Drew replied coldly.

"Do you even hear yourself?" Adam asked. "You're being an idiot." Drew clenched his fists and paced in front of Adam. He'd never hit his younger brother but he'd imagine what it would feel like in great detail.

"Why does it even matter? I'm never going to talk to him again!" Drew shouted.

"Drew, I'd give anything to be able to talk to my real mom again," Adam said. "I don't even have a memory of her. You have no idea how much I wish I had what you have..."

"Funny," Drew mused. "I'd give anything to have my father dead." Adam looked at his older brother in shock.

"You don't mean that," he whispered with wide eyes.

"Yes I do!" Drew yelled back. "Your mom was a beautiful person. She was worth something. My dad should be in jail! He had everything going for him... He had my mom, he had me, but he put snorting cocaine before us! He took advantage of me to help feed his addiction when he couldn't afford coke himself..." Adam was silent for a moment and tried to give Drew a hug, but he pulled back, refusing Adam's touch.

"Drew... please..."

"N-no! Don't... don't touch me!" Drew yelled holding out his hands in an attempt to defend himself. His arms were shaking violently and his eyes were growing more and glassier as it became harder to hold the tears back. Adam was speechless. He'd never seen Drew so vulnerable before. He always assumed Drew was so strong... Seeing him close to tears was mind boggling. "Just... go," Drew croaked as he pointed to the front door of the house. Adam wanted to help his older brother, but knew it was time to leave well enough alone. When Drew was sure Adam had gone inside, he crawled inside his car and drove to Clare's house. The sky was significantly darker as the clouds became grayer. As he pulled up to Clare's house, he felt his eyes stinging as tears rolled down his face. Great, now Clare was going to worry about him. As he waited for her to come outside, he violently dried the tears from his eyes. Adam was right; he should've just stayed home.

"Dammit," he mumbled to himself as raindrops started to fall down on his windshield and it quickly began to pour. Drew didn't think to bring an umbrella, and now he was going to get sick. Impulsively, he got out of his car and ran up to Clare's house, getting drenched in the process. He knocked on the front door, but he could hear her parents yelling from outside. It hurt him a little bit. He remembered what it was like to have to live with that. In the next instant, a tall brunette woman opened the door. She looked as if she was tired but gave Drew a forced smile.

"Hello. Who are you?" she asked.

"I'm Clare's friend, Andrew," he explained. "But uh, just call me Drew. You must be Clare's mom." He held out his hand and she shook it gently.

"Helen, who _is_ that?" a voice shouted from inside the house. She cast an annoyed look over her shoulder before looking back at Drew.

"When don't you come inside Drew," Helen said. "Clare's still upstairs in her room getting dressed but I'm sure she'll be down any moment. I have some things to take care of." Drew nodded, knowing that meant she was probably going back to the kitchen to argue with her former husband. Drew waited until she was out of sight before he quietly walked upstairs to find Clare.

"Clare," Drew half whispered. "Where are you?" After a moment of shuffling, Clare poked her head outside of a door and stared at Drew in confusion.

"Drew? But how..."

"Your mom let me inside. Can I come into your room?" he asked. She bit her lip, but after seeing how exhausted he looked she nodded. Besides the obvious sleep deprivation that was written across his face, she could see that his eyes were red, presumably from crying, not to mention he was soaking wet from the rain. Drew walked to her room and smiled when she let him in. It was the kind of room he expected to Clare to have; the walls were light pink and the room was perfectly tidy. It even had a sweet scent to it, it smelled just like vanilla.

"Any particular reason you came upstairs?" she asked to break the silence. Drew sat on the ground and propped himself up on the side of her bed.

"I forgot to take an umbrella and I didn't want to go out with all this rain," he explained. Clare giggled as she sat next to him on her white carpet. She was wearing a floral print halter dress with a blue cardigan over it to math the pattern. He wanted to believe that she was all dolled up for him but knowing her, it was just something she thought was cute on her.

"A little late for that," she pointed out as she caressed the side of his cheek with her thumb drying what she assumed was a tear.

"I'm sorry about your parents. Things sound pretty bad," Drew said. Clare bit her lip and nodded.

"Sometimes they're fine and I get hopeful... I fool myself into thinking they're going to get back together and we'll all go back to being one big happy family, just me, them and Darcy-"

"Who's Darcy?" Drew asked.

"My older sister," she replied.

"She's... not dead or anything right?" he asked, his blue eyes filling up with fear.

"No, she's inKenyadoing charity work right now. She was supposed to come back earlier this month but then Peter went over to meet her and now I have no clue when she's coming back," Clare said with a sigh. "I'm kinda dealing with having no one right now."

"You have me," Drew said.

"I know Drew," Clare said as she rested her head on his shoulder. He snaked his arms around his wasted and let his chin rest on her head. He expected her to protest against the contact, but instead she merely allowed herself to lie comfortably next to him.

They were silent for a while and listened to her parents, who were too pre-occupied with throwing insults at each other. Clare winced occasionally and Drew squeezed her tighter to comfort her. Eventually, the sound of the rain began to drown out her parents, but the sound of thunder made Clare jump whenever it crackled. Drew refused to loosen his grip on her. He'd never seen her so terrified before and he wanted her to know he was there for her.

"Don't be scared Clare," Drew whispered into her hair. "I'm right here."

"You're not going to stay forever," she whispered.

"What do you mean?" Drew asked.

"Don't you hear my parents?" Clare asked. "Nobody stays around forever…"

"Your parents love you," he said sincerely. Clare's eyes were pinned on her bedroom door which was the only thing in the house that could muffle the sound of their arguments.

"They don't love me enough to stop this," she replied. Drew shook his head in disbelief. How was it that he saw her in such a perfect way, but her vision of herself was so flawed? He tilted Clare's head up so that she had to look up at him and kept direct eye contact with her.

"They're not doing this because of you. It's their problem, not yours," he said. Clare swallowed hard as her eyes welled up with tears.

"Then why does it hurt me so much?" Drew didn't respond, but held her in his arms, rocking her back and forth to calm her. She brought her knees closer up to her body so that she could feel closer to him as she let herself weep on his shoulder.

"It'll get better," he whispered into her hair. Clare shook her head defiantly.

"How?" Clare demanded. "I'm losing everyone important to me… First my sister, then my parents, now Eli is slipping away from me… It's only a matter of time until you leave me too."

"You're not losing me Clare," Drew said as he looked down at her and wiped the teardrops that soaked her face. "Not now, not ever." She looked up at him and offered him a small smile. Drew leaned forward and kissed her forehead. Clare's eyes were fixed on Drew's as they both remained silent until he finally began leaning toward her. Clare normally would've told him to stop, but she was too tired to fight him anymore. Her eyes fell shut and she waited for the inevitable. Drew seemed to be moving towards her agonizingly slowly until his lips finally met hers. He couldn't believe it. He was actually kissing Clare Edwards. And she was kissing him back. She pulled back for a second and stared at him in confusion, though he was certain his expression matched hers.

"I'm sorry Clare…" Drew quickly apologized. "I know you didn't want me to kiss you but-" His voice trailed off when Clare silenced him by placing her lips on his.

**Leave a review and don't forget to follow me on Twitter!**


	11. Look At the Mess We've Made

**A/N: **Time for an update! We finally reached over 50 reviews guys! That's amazing and I love you for that! I'm about halfway done with this story now but don't worry, there's still heaps of drama left to come. RxR! BTW, sorry this chapter kinda sucks, I was getting lazy because I had horrible writer's block for the past 2 weeks but the next one will be better!

* * *

Drew wasn't entirely sure how much time had passed since he and Clare started kissing, but he made no effort to question it. He'd been waiting so long for that moment and now that it finally happened he didn't want it to end. Clare's kisses were so sweet and innocent. It made sense why Eli was so possessive of her; why would anyone want to lose some like Clare? His thoughts were all focused on her until the sound of footsteps made the two teens jump apart. Clare's face reddened dramatically as her mother opened the door to her room, but it seemed as Helen was completely unaware of what Drew and Clare had been doing only seconds before.

"Clare, you know my rule against closed doors when you have boys over," Helen said sternly. Clare's blush only increased but the dim lighting in her room made it less noticeable.

"Sorry mom," she said quickly.

"Anyway, that's not why I came up here," Helen said. "Andrew, are you staying for dinner?" Clare looked at him as well. He was much calmer about what had just happened. Clare huffed. Of course he was; he was always so nonchalant about everything.

"I'd love to but I only came to talk to Clare for a few minutes," Drew stated. Clare's mother nodded her head and turned, leaving the bedroom door wide open. Clare stood up and smoothed her dress out. Her blue eyes were fixed on the ground and she could feel her cheeks reddening by the minute.

"I guess you're going to leave now," she said after she cleared her throat.

"Yeah," Drew said. "If it wasn't such a bad storm out there, I'd take you out."

"Drew... what just happened was a big mistake," Clare said.

"What do you mean?" he asked in confusion. Minus the untimely appearance of Clare's mother, Drew was sure that she was finally willing to admit she had feelings for him. Was that all in his head as usual?

"Drew, until we can get over this silly little crush we both have on each other, we can't be around each other anymore," Clare said sadly. Drew's eyes widened. She just crushed him with those words. He couldn't believe how easy it was for her to break him. For a while, they stood there, staring at one another. Drew was too shocked to speak.

"Clare... I'm never going to get over you," Drew said earnestly. "You can't honestly think avoiding me will change how I feel."

"We just need time apart from each other," she said. "We've been spending too much time together... Eli was right..."

"This isn't about Eli, this is about you not giving us a chance," Drew said. His eyes were pleading with her to hear him out, but she wouldn't listen to him. Her mind was already made.

"I'm sorry Drew, but this is wrong," Clare stated.

"Wrong? Clare, you wanna know why your stupid boyfriend has a problem with me? It's because he's sneaking around with Bianca and he doesn't want me to tell you about it," Drew said bitterly.

"Drew, don't try to make stuff up," she said in a condescending tone. Drew rolled his eyes. Why was she being so difficult?

"I'm being honest with you Clare. Why is that so hard for you to believe?" She didn't respond. Her eyes fell and she stared at the carpet on the floor before she angrily pointed at the door.

"Just... leave. Please," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. Drew stared at her for a moment but nodded. He looked over his shoulder for a second then stormed out of her house without giving Clare another glance.

* * *

"Eli?" Bianca looked around and squinted in the sunlight. Her hair was pinned up in a messy bun and she was dressed in the most casual clothes he had ever seen her in; a green sports jersey and gray shorts.

"Good morning," he said as he leaned down and kissed Bianca. He gave her smile, but Bianca was caught off guard. She didn't expect Eli to come to her house so early on a Saturday morning.

"How did you find out where I live?" the brunette girl asked in an amused tone. She didn't give him her address; she just wanted to hear him explain how much trouble he went through to get it. Bianca loved seeing guys go through so much trouble for her.

"I asked around," Eli explained nonchalantly. Bianca rolled her eyes and smiled. Eli always had an answer for everything. "Now are you going to let me in, or not?" He gave Bianca his famous smirk and she stepped back, letting him come into her home.

"So what brings you here?" she said as she brought him into her living room. It was a neatly decorated house. Eli hated to admit it, but he assumed that Bianca came from a poor family. Most people at school assumed that as well, just based on her style and attitude. It wasn't that she was tasteless per se; she just seemed like the kind of person who could deal with having money problems. Oddly enough that wasn't the case at all. Her parents were obviously working pretty decent jobs from the looks of her home.

"Am I not allowed to spend time with you?" he asked in a teasing voice. Bianca grinned and gave him a peck on the lips before she plopped down on the living room couch, motioning for Eli to do the same.

"I wasn't expecting you to come look for me," she admitted. Eli wrapped his arm around her and she laid her head on his shoulder.

"And why's that?" he asked as Bianca snuggled closer to him.

"I do remember you saying this wasn't anything serious. What changed your mind Casanova?" He smirked at her and leaned closer so that his nose was touching hers.

"Maybe it's too hard to resist you..." Eli was about to kiss Bianca again when a muscular boy walked down stairs and into the living room. He looked a bit older than they did, probably a college freshman. When he noticed the couple, he grinned at Bianca and laughed loudly.

"Bee! _¿Quièn es? ¿El papa de tu bebe?_"

"_¡Cállate la maldita boca!_" Bianca said in an annoyed tone. Eli looked at Bianca then back at the boy startled. He didn't know she was bilingual.

"_Cuidado con lo que dices,_ _niña chiquita,"_ the boy replied with a smirk. Bianca scoffed and shot another response in the older boy's direction.

"_Pierdete idioto, estoy ocupado,_" she said. The boy chuckled and Bianca huffed.

"Sorry Eli. This is my idiot cousin Brandon."

"What's up?" he said as he slapped hands with Eli. Eli nodded his head and Brandon roamed off to what Eli assumed was the kitchen. If Bianca hadn't introduced Brandon as her cousin, he would've assumed that they were siblings. He had the same dark curly hair, though his was barely longer than Eli's eyes were even the same golden brown color as Bianca's. The two could easily pass as brother and sister. It was interesting to say the least, but Eli turned his attention back to Bianca.

"If that's your cousin, what's he doing here?" the green eyed boy asked.

"There's a soccer game on today so he and my dad were setting up. The freak must've fallen asleep here last night," Bianca replied.

"What are you setting up for?" Eli inquired.

"Basically my whole family comes over and has a little party... barbeque... Whatever... and watch soccer games. This time it's at our place," she said.

"Setting up for a barbeque huh?" Eli said. "Sounds like fun." Bianca scoffed.

"Fun? Are you kidding me? I'd rather die than sit through these," she said. The dark haired boy smiled and played with Bianca's hair.

"Maybe... we can get lost, hm?" The look in Eli's eyes made Bianca giggle in excitement. Before she could reply, Eli's phone started to beep. He gave Bianca a confused look but pulled out his phone and saw one new message from Clare.

"Of course it's from her," Bianca muttered angrily. "What does it say?" Eli opened the message and read it to Bianca even though she was reading the text with him.

_Eli, come over l8r? I wanna talk_

Bianca stared at him sadly and watched as he typed his reply.

_Im here now Clare. Go ahead & talk_...

Her next message was short and his phone rang in almost the same second that he pressed send.

_Plz? I need you..._

Eli sighed and quickly typed a new reply.

_Fine. I'll b there in a few..._

Eli reluctantly stood up and Bianca's saddened look turned into one of jealousy.

"I can't believe you're blowing me off for that little hypocrite," Bianca seethed. Eli walked forward to hug her but she slapped his hand away.

"I'm sorry but I haven't broken up with her and it's still complicated," Eli tried to reason with her, but to no avail.

"Uh-huh. You better tell her soon or else I will," she warned. Her hands were gripped firmly to her hips and her lips were formed into her usual pout. Eli nodded and she walked him to the front door and kissed him goodbye.

"I will Bianca... Call me when the game starts so I can rescue you from your boredom?" It was more of a question than an offer but Bianca's smile gave him all the reassurance he needed.

"Get lost Goldsworthy," she said with a grin. Eli smiled back before he ran over to his hearse and drove off to Clare's house. Bianca closed the door and let out a sigh. Sure, he was going to break up with Clare but why was he putting it off for so long? It was so frustrating.

"He has a girlfriend?"Brandonasked. Bianca spun around to see her cousin standing by the kitchen doorway with his arms crossed.

"God Brandon, do you have to listen in on my personal conversations?" she asked, trying to avoid her cousin's question. Unfortunately for her,Brandoncaught on to what she was doing and shook his head.

"Bee, this kid -Eli- he seems a little shifty. Dressing in all black? Cheating on his girlfriend for a loser like you? Are you sure he's sane?" he half teased.

"Har-har," Bianca rolled her eyes. "I can handle it Brandon, okay?" Her cousin snorted and walked back into the kitchen knowing there was no point in arguing with Bianca.

"Whatever you say, _niña chiquita,_" he muttered.

* * *

"Hi Eli," Clare said as she greeted her boyfriend at the front door of her house. He didn't smile but he accepted her hug casually. Clare attempted to give Eli a small smile to help ease the mood, but her effort went to waste.

"What's the emergency?" he asked as he let himself into her house. Clare shut the door behind her and shrugged. The duo made their way to the living room where they both sat on the couch, though it wasn't the same as when Eli was with Bianca. He knew what he was doing was wrong and the last thing he needed to do was strengthen his feelings for Clare.

"I just wanted to talk," she said casually, though Eli could tell she was lying.

"Don't we talk all the time?" he asked. There was a long pause. Clare sighed. They hadn't found themselves in silence like that for months.

"Not recently..." she said. "I just thought that maybe you'd want to spend some time with me." Eli chuckled darkly at her statement. Maybe if she was so busy with Drew, they would have had time to spend with each other.

"What happened? Did you make plans with Drew but he cancelled so now you want to be with me?" Eli spat. Clare stared at him in shock.

"What? No! Eli, are you still upset about that?" Clare gave him a confused look but Eli was too annoyed to think straight.

"Oh, of course not. I love it when my girlfriend chooses to spend her time with an idiotic jock instead of me," the green eyed boy said sarcastically.

"Eli, you've been here for about five minutes and you're already starting a fight with me?" Clare asked. She sounded heartbroken but Eli didn't care. He had to make her hate him as much as he could if he had to break up with her.

"Well can you blame me Clare? Drew this, Drew that; how do you think that makes me feel?" Eli shouted. Clare turned her head away from him.

"You're being rude to for no reason," she said. "If you disrespect him, I'm gonna to defend him." Her boyfriend chuckled.

"And I suppose you called me over her to argue with you so that I'd go home and feel like crap and then apologize to you since you're Saint Clare and you can do no wrong," he stated in a sarcastic tone.

"Could you please stop acting like a five year old?" Clare said. "All I wanted was to spend some time with my boyfriend. You know, the witty, confident boy that was sweet to me in the beginning of the year. Not this snarky, insecure guy who thinks he owns me." Her arms were crossed over her chest and he knew she had a point, but he would never give her the satisfaction of being right. His green eyes stared bitterly into her blue ones and a nagging voice in the back of his head reminded him that another girl with warm amber eyes was waiting for him.

"Maybe I want the girl that I asked out," Eli said. "You know, the sensible sweetheart that was still coming out of her shell. Not this childish, unfaithful, little-"

"Unfaithful?" Clare repeated. "You can call me a lot of things, but unfaithful? That's absolute nonsense Eli."

"Do you know how hard it is to be with you right now? Everyone at school is talking about how much fun you and Drew are having. I even know they made you give up your Goddamn abstinence ring! Do you realize that makes me look like an idiot? Being in love with a girl like that?" Eli yelled. Clare rolled her eyes.

"You know I would never sleep with Drew," she said angrily.

"I know that. I'm not stupid. But I do know that you like him Clare. I can see the way you look at him and the way you freaking talk about him? You're so transparent!" Eli's voice echoed through Clare's home. Besides the two of them, the house was completely empty. It took Clare a while to process Eli's words and even longer to think of a response. She was hurt by the way he was treating her, but it hurt more knowing that he was right. She did like Drew an awful lot, but she was avoiding him for Eli. And now Eli was treating her like dirt. How was that fair?

"I don't need this right now," Clare finally said. Eli gave her a blank stare before he shook his head. Of course she didn't answer his question. Just knowing that he had been right about her having feelings for Drew, despite what he had with Bianca, killed him inside. It was like she had just stabbed him slowly and he was suffocating.

"You know what? I'm glad. When you can figure out whether or not you like Drew more than your boyfriend, you can call me." And with that, he left and hopped back into his hearse, leaving Clare by herself. She was still trying to understand what they were arguing about but then a terrible thought hit her. In less than 24 hours she pushed away the two guys she cared about the most.

* * *

"Hiya Drew," Alli said in her perkiest voice. She sat beside him by the counter in The Dot as he sipped his coffee silently.

"Hey," he mumbled tiredly. Alli could tell that he hadn't gotten much sleep the night before just by looking at him. Drew's eyes had dark circles beneath them and he could barely keep his head up. She smiled. Alli was worried that sending KC to tell Drew that Clare was interested in him would backfire somehow, but her plan seemed to be working perfectly.

"I know we haven't really talked much since I came back to Degrassi," Alli said. "But that doesn't mean I stopped caring about you. How are you Drew? You look tired."

"Yeah well," Drew shrugged. "Stress does that to a person."

"Tell me about it," she agreed. "Family problems? Or do you have a new girl?"

"I guess you could say the last part is true. I really do screw up with girls," Drew said as he ran his hands through his hair.

"Yeah," she nodded her head sympathetically. "It sucks knowing that the person you want, doesn't want you back huh?"

"W-what?" he stammered.

"I know you have a thing for Clare," Alli said. "But don't worry. I'm not going to let you break her heart the way you broke mine." Drew was speechless as he watched Alli walk out of the cafe with a disapproving scowl on her face. Drew wanted to die. How did Alli know he liked Clare? He knew she was smart but that was just ridiculous.

"Oh God," Drew mumbled. He stood up and walked out of The Dot with his coffee, deciding to go home where no one would talk to him. It was cloudy but Drew doubted that it was going to rain. He walked through the neighborhood until he finally reached the front steps of his house. Before he could pull out his keys, the door swung open and Drew found himself face to face with Adam.

"Drew! I was just about to go out and look for you!" Adam exclaimed. "Where've you been all morning?"

"I needed some breathing space," Drew replied. That was only partially true. He had been hoping that he'd think of something to say to Clare, but the more he thought of how she had rejected him the more he felt like punching something. He needed more than breathing space, he needed an escape and caffeine was obviously not enough. Not to mention that Alli caught on to his crush on Clare. How could someone he cared about so much hurt him so badly? Drew liked to think it was karma for cheating on Alli, but hadn't he apologized enough for that?

"Why haven't you been answering your phone? We've been calling you for an hour!" Adam said. Drew reached into his pocket and sure enough, there were a dozen missed calls.

"I put my phone on silent. I told you, I needed some me time," the older of the Torres brothers said.

"Why? Because of Clare or... you know... Your dad?" Adam paused to give Drew the chance to react to the question. Just like Adam expected, Drew rolled his eyes, annoyed by the suggestion.

"Can we not bring up my dad?" the older boy asked. "He's actually the least of my worries right now in case you couldn't tell." Adam looked at Drew warily as if he knew something he didn't want to.

"Actually, mom wants to talk to you about, well... him. She's been pacing for the past half an hour waiting for you to get home," Adam said.

"Why would she want to talk to me about him?" Drew asked. Adam bit his lower lip before grabbing his brother by the arm and leading him inside the house. Drew wanted to protest, but after seeing his mother's expression, he felt his heart drop. What could she possibly be so worked up about that involved his father? He tried hard not to, but he was beginning to assume the absolute worst.

"Andrew! Where on Earth have you been?" Audra shouted. Before he could form a response, she held up a finger to keep him from talking. "That's not important right now. I got a call from someone today... Your father's caretaker in rehab actually."

"Oh," was all Drew could say.

"Apparently he had connections with other people and he managed to sneak drugs past them... He's being hospitalized as we speak due to a heart attack and I'm not sure what condition he's in," his mother explained. "Omar's gone down to the hospital already and he's waiting for us to get there."

"Wait- what?" Drew stared at his mother blankly.

"We don't have time for this," Audra said as she grabbed herself a jacket and began walking out the house. Adam followed her and Drew did the same, trying to wrap his mind around what his mother just said. His father was having a heart attack? How was he supposed to react to that? Too dazed to really react to anything, Drew kept his mouth shut as they made their way to the hospital. It was weird, for the first time in years he was going to see his father and he was still making the same bad decisions. He was still the good for nothing drug addict that Drew hated. But still, somewhere in the back of his mind, Drew couldn't help the tremendous amount of worry he felt.


	12. Reality Sets In

**A/N: **Hi! Sorry I've been M.I.A. I was sick and busy, not to mention I had horrible writer's block so I am really sorry for the long wait guys! Hopefully you still love me (Despite the fact that this is probably the shortest chapter) This chapter is a bit of a filler because I didn't want to rush into the next part, which you'll find out about probably in the next chapter or two. Yes, I'm holding part of the story hostage. Haha, okay I've talked enough. RxR!

* * *

Drew fiddled uncomfortably in the waiting room chair as a nurse explained everything to his mother. A heart attack? How was he supposed to feel about his dad possibly dying? Adam was trying to distract him, but he was failing miserably. Drew wanted to throw up. How was it that his father left him years ago but he managed to squeeze his way back into his life? It was just so unfair. Questions were running through the sixteen year old boy's mind faster than he could even process all of them. The silence was suffocating him and in a panicked frenzy, Drew turned to his younger brother.

"You can survive a heart attack right?" he asked. Adam could see the pain that was wavering through Drew's eyes and felt his heart break.

"Of course you can," Adam assured him. "Don't even worry, he'll be fine."

"You don't know that," Drew mumbled. Adam was quiet for a moment but then decided he'd try and keep the conversation alive.

"What's your dad's name?" he asked.

"Antonio D'Orazio," Drew replied. Before Adam had a chance to say anything else, their mother and the nurse came over to the two boys and smiled politely at them. The nurse was a small woman, barely taller than Alli was. She had short red hair and looked rather young to be a nurse, but Drew assumed, or rather hoped, that she was well trained.

"Good afternoon boys, my name is Katherine. I'm assuming you two must be Mr. D'Orazio's sons?" she asked.

"Just me," Drew said. "How is uh... My dad?" It felt awkward calling Antonio his father. Even before his parents divorced, Drew considered Omar to be more of a father figure than Antonio.

"Well, we got to him just in time. You can't go in to see him right now but he should be fully recovered by Tuesday. As you probably know this is a direct result of his cocaine addiction."

"It's a direct result of how careless the caretakers at that rehabilitation center are," Audra spat.

"I suppose," Katherine brushed off Audra's comment and focused on Drew. "You can relax. You'll be able to talk to your father soon, alright?" She patted Drew's shoulder soothingly and walked off, leaving the sixteen year old boy stunned. So was that really it? His dad was just going to be perfectly fine? Were things going to get back to normal, or would his father finally change his ways. Drew's head was spinning. His thoughts were consuming him and eating him alive.

"So what now mom?" he finally asked. Audra sighed as she looked at Omar, who was running a hand through his hair. Drew could sense the stress radiating of of his mother and step father, as well as the awkwardness Adam felt.

"I don't know," Audra admitted. Drew cringed and he was certain his heart dropped to the bottom of his chest. Those were three words he really didn't want to hear at that moment.

* * *

"Eli are you just going to ignore me?" Clare whispered from across the aisle in her English class. He didn't pay her any attention as he continued taking notes on everything that Mrs. Dawes was saying. Clare huffed and tried to think of another tactic to get him to listen to her when her English teacher cleared her throat and gave Clare a stern look.

"Excuse me Clare, but do you have something you want to say?" Mrs. Dawes asked. The fifteen year old shook her head as she gave Eli a sad look.

"No ma'am. I can't say that I do," Clare replied. At that moment the bell rang and all the students left the classroom. Clare watched as Eli packed up his things without even giving her the time of day. Why was he being so cold to her? As Eli walked off, Clare noticed Adam lagging behind with an exhausted expression on his face. She stopped and waited for her friend, knowing that she had been neglecting him since the drama with her and Eli had erupted. She didn't blame him though, if she could be someone else to avoid her gothic boyfriend, she would've done so in a heart beat.

"Hey Adam... are you okay? I know it's a rainy Monday but you look so down," Clare noted. Adam's baby blues eyes that were usually filled with excitement were fixed on the ground and he looked beyond tired. His light brown hair looked as if he hadn't bothered to brush it that morning, and his already pale skin was lifeless and ghostly. What could've possibly kept him up all night? Maybe he had been talking to Eli, though Eli looked as rested as ever. Clare was willing to bet her boyfriend probably applied some eyeliner that morning to mask it, but it didn't matter if he was tired. She had to be focused on her friend who she had been neglecting, not Eli who was busy giving her the cold shoulder.

"I'm just worried about Drew," Adam replied.

"Oh," Clare muttered quietly. She hadn't seen Drew since Friday and neither made any attempt to talk to each other since then.

"It's not about that fight you got into," Adam said, breaking his brunette friend out of her thoughts. Her cheeks turned and rosy pink color,and Adam held back a chuckle.

"So you know what happened?" she asked, her voice quiet as if to prevent other people from hearing what she was saying.

"He tells me _everything_ Clare. But I can keep a secret, so nobody but the _three_ of us know," Adam emphasized the number three and Clare felt herself relax as she stopped holding her breath. She didn't want to ask Adam to keep such a big secret from Eli, but it seemed as if he was willing to do so on his own free will. To make sure she made him forget about her and Drew, Clare steered the conversation to where it originally was heading.

"So, what has you so worried about Drew?" she asked as she cocked her head to side, her auburn curls bouncing as she did so.

"It's his dad. He's back and Drew's skipping school to visit him in the hospital today," Adam said.

"His dad's in the hospital? How did that happen?" Clare asked with a confused look.

"Look Clare, Drew is having a really tough time right now. If you wanna know, ask him yourself. I don't wanna be in the middle of this," her friend replied. Clare nodded her head in acknowledgement of what Adam had said. It was unfair to have him be in such a position, especially when he knew she cheated on his best friend and broke his older brother's heart.

"Fair enough," she said quietly. Clare was about to walk to her next class, but Adam stopped her before she could go.

"Wait Clare. Can you just answer one thing for me?" Adam asked in almost an urgent tone. Clare nodded and he continued quickly. "Why did you think Drew was lying about Eli and Bianca?"

"Huh?" she seemed taken back by that statement. "That silly story? Eli would never do that, especially not with her."

"Did you ask him about it yourself? Or did you just assume that Eli can do no wrong and you left it alone?" Adam mumbled. Clare felt as though the life was being sucked out of her. She knew Adam would never lie to her about Eli cheating, even if Drew asked him too.

"Adam," Clare's voice wavered as she tried her best not to let tears fall from her eyes. "Is... is it true?"

"I'm sorry Clare," he said. That killed Clare inside. She turned around to walk away and ignored Adam as he called after her. The only thing running through her mind was the amount of pain Eli inflicted on her by cheating, and the amount of stupidity she felt for not believing Drew when he tried to warn her about it. The late bell rang, but Clare didn't care. She couldn't bear to go through with the rest of the day with her head still reeling. She hurried herself through Degrassi's halls until she saw the room she was looking for. Clare took a deep breath before she peered into the window and looked for her boyfriend. She quickly scanned the room until she laid her eyes on his familiar smirk. There he was. Elijah Goldsworthy.

And if only to make matters worse, the class was seated in pairs, and his history partner was none other than the curly haired slut she was hoping to avoid. Bianca's amber eyes were wide and happy and Clare felt herself fight back a sob when she realized Eli staring back at her with the same adoration he looked at her with. After a moment of staring, Clare was about to turn on her heel until the green eyed boy looked up and caught her gaze, and his once triumphant gaze turned into one of shock. The look on Clare's face nearly broke his heart, but in an instant, she turned around and she was gone.


	13. Rumors and Reputations

**A/N: Hi everybody! I know I've been taking a tremendous amount of time to update. My bad. Anyway, I hope you like this chapter and please leave me reviews! Thanks guys! Also, if you want to you can go to my profile, go to my tumblr and see what the original ending for Chapter 10 was before I changed it. Enjoy!**

* * *

As soon as she walked away from Eli's history room, Clare darted towards the bathroom and locked herself in a stall, not caring that she was now skipping class. She couldn't deal with anything or anybody, she just needed solitude. As she tried to dry her eyes and stop the tears that were flowing down her cheeks, she heard footsteps and someone mention her name. She silenced herself and listened, disgusted by the things that poured out the voices she heard but not drawing any attention to herself. She thought the rumors about her had died down, but apparently they were still alive and kicking.

"I just can't believe that she'd degrade herself like that, I mean Clare Edwards? Are you sure?" one voice said.

"Yeah I'm sure," a higher pitched voice said. "I heard she's been spending a lot of time with Drew Torres, if you know what I mean. Plus, my cousin's friend Ariana is part of that Christian club and she told me that they made her give up her purity ring and everything!"

"No way! Shut up!" the first voice screeched in awe. "I still can't believe she'd whore herself out though..."

"Don't be naive, I mean, how else would a quiet girl like her get Drew's attention? You know he wouldn't give any decent girl a second glance. Only reason Clare got his attention was because she finally caved in and spread her legs."

"Must suck though. Her parents are getting a divorce and now she's the new school slut... Oh my God, she might actually replace Bianca!"

"What Clare's doing is far worse than what Bianca did. Isn't Drew her best friend's ex? Everyone knows ex-boyfriends are off limits, especially when you have a boyfriend of your own. So selfish."

"Yeah... Ew! I hope she doesn't give anything to Eli! He's kind of cute..."

"She probably did. Don't you read the post its in the stalls?" The footsteps neared the stall that Clare was hiding in and she held her breath as they attempted to open the door to her stall before they realized it was locked.

"Woops, sorry!" one of the girls called. "Come on, let's get back to class and I'll show you the sticky notes later." With that, the two girls left the bathroom and Clare whipped around to read the many colorful notes that were stuck to the bathroom wall. One sticky note was bright blue and was the center of the giant mess of post its. On it, the original girl who had written it was written in thick black marker: **Clare Edwards: Opinions?**

_'Floozy :p'_ one note read.

_'What a tramp. Who knows what Drew's given her? Gross' _another said.

_'I wouldn't want my mouth anywhere I knew Bianca's had been. It's so sad, she's so desperate' _someone else had written. Clare felt even more tears threaten to fall from her eyes. The notes all said the same thing; she was nothing more than a desperate, ditzy slut. She had enough; she had reached her breaking point. Angrily, Clare practically darted from the bathroom and through the hallways of Degrassi, not caring how much trouble she'd get in for cutting the rest of the day.

* * *

"Clare?" Drew asked in confusion as he walked up the front steps of his house. She was seated on his doorstep with tear stained cheeks and a half hearted smile. Clare offered Drew a wave but it didn't change his expression. School was still in session and she had to be cutting at least three periods.

"Hey," she whispered. He could tell from the way her voice croaked that she had been crying, and her eyes were a dead giveaway that it was not too long ago.

"What are you doing here? What's wrong?" Drew asked. He cupped her face in his hands but it didn't prevent the tears from rolling down her face. She bit her lip and shook her head, not wanting to say anything. Drew wrapped his arms around her and let her relax into his embrace. It was the first time she had felt safe all day, as if she belonged to be wrapped in Drew's arms. Clare finally let herself break down into sobs with Drew rocking her back and forth without questioning her.

"You were right about Eli," she muttered. "I'm sorry. I'm so stupid."

"You are not stupid Clare," Drew said as he ran his fingers through her curly hair. "He's the stupid one for doing this to you." She smiled weakly and pulled away from his grasp just far enough so that she could see his face, though the tears in her eyes blurred her vision.

"But I am Drew. You tried to warn me. You and Adam both did! But I was being stupid I didn't listen to you. I'm so sorry," Clare apologized repeatedly but Drew merely shook his head.

"I don't blame you for thinking that, I mean, he _was_ your boyfriend..." he said, in an almost hopeful tone.

"We haven't officially broken up yet," Clare stated. Drew's face fell instantly, but she continued. "But don't worry, the next time I see him, we're through." Drew grinned at her as she said that. Those few words had brightened up his whole day. It was finally happening; Clare was finally leaving Eli.

"I'm here for you," he assured her as he draped an arm around her. Clare smiled warmly back at him.

"Can I come inside?" she asked. Drew nodded and unlocked the front door before leading her into his home. He led her to the kitchen and she sat by the table as he opened the fridge an pulled out a container of leftovers.

"Are you hungry?" he asked. "I have some pasta we can heat up."

"Sure, thanks" Clare replied. Drew took out two plates and heated up their food before he served the two of them. They ate in silence and Drew took their plates when they were done eating. Clare watched him for a moment as she racked her head for anything to say until she finally thought of something.

"So, how's your dad doing? In the hospital I mean." Drew noticeably tensed, but he took a deep breath and relaxed.

"I didn't get to see him today but the doctors said he can have visitors tomorrow. He should be fully recovered by the end of the week."

"Oh, well that's good," Clare noted as she stood to help him wash the dishes they had just used.

"So, I'm guessing Adam told you?" Drew asked with a knowing look on his face. Clare nodded and her curly hair bounced up and down before he laughed. "Figures. He really can't keep a secret."

"Oh really?" Clare asked. "You'd be surprised." Before Drew could say anything more, Clare pulled the older boy down to her and kissed him as hard as she could. Drew was surprised at first but kissed her back, not wanting to question it. When they finally pulled apart, Drew smirked at her. His mother always told him good things come to those who wait, and he finally understood why.

"What was that for?" he asked with a goofy grin. Clare looked him directly in the eyes, with no emotion on her face, only in her eyes.

"Drew, please shut up." And with that, she kissed him again.

* * *

"I can't believe you think I'm cheating on you," Eli chuckled as he sipped his coffee. He and Clare were sitting across from each other in The Dot because she had wanted to "talk" though it seemed like one big joke to Eli. She huffed indignantly. She had planned out how the conversation could possibly have gone over and over in her head before meeting up with her soon to be ex-boyfriend, but him laughing it off wasn't one of the potential scenarios.

"I know, but Adam and Drew had me convinced..."

"Clare, you know I love _you_ and nobody else." She silently stared out the window, regret crashing over her. So she was the desperate slut everyone rumored to be. Skipping school, kissing another boy while she was in a serious relationship, trying to get together with Alli's ex, it was all just too much for her to handle.

"But why would Adam lie to me?" she questioned him. "Why would he try to break us up?"

"I don't blame him," Eli stated absent mindedly. "I mean, they're brothers. His loyalty lies with Drew; I can understand that."

"So, what I saw happening in your history class... What was that?" The green eyed boy sighed and held the bridge of his nose before he elaborated.

"Bianca and I are partners for history. I didn't want to worry you but, we've been hanging out a bit lately and we've become good friends," Eli explained without missing a beat.

"Oh... you two are good friends?" Clare asked with a suspicious look.

"Yeah. You know, just like you and _Drew_," he replied, in an almost bitter tone. Clare gasped; the look on Eli's face showed that he seemed to know something more than what he let on. Clare suddenly felt uncomfortable sitting their across from Eli as he stared at her with dark, vicious eyes. Somehow she felt as though she was suffocationg and her only escape was to run far away from him. She faked a smile at Eli before she stood up and walked away.

"I'll see you later," Clare muttered as she grabbed her bag and darted out of The Dot.

* * *

"Good morning beautiful," Drew said as he put his arm around Clare. She shot the boy an odd look before wiggling out of his grasp.

"Drew, what are you doing?" she snapped at him. Drew gave her a shocked look.

"Did I do something wrong?" he asked.

"You know Eli and I are still together..." she replied. Drew backed away from her for a second and stared in disbelief. How could she seriously go back to him? After all the cheating and all the lies? What was wrong with her?

"You're kidding... You said you were going to break up with him..." Drew's voice trailed off.

"It was all a misunderstanding... He and Bianca are just history partners Drew. I know you and Adam are just trying to look out for me, but you guys had it all wrong. There's nothing to worry about," Clare explained.

"Are you seriously falling for more of his lies?" Drew exclaimed. Clare flinched as he shouted at her, a pang of hurt ran through her.

"You just don't know Eli the way I do," she stated firmly. "We're good for each other."

"But you kissed me yesterday for God's sake!" he shouted in a desperate attempt to make her realize how silly she was being. Could she honestly believe all that nonsense Eli was coming up with?

"Not so loud," Clare hissed as she looked over her shoulder to make sure nobody had heard him. "Please just leave me alone, okay? You're fine in math now, you don't need me anymore." Drew held onto her and looked straight into her eyes.

"Yes," his voice wavered as he spoke. "I do."

"Drew please, calm down. You're making a scene-"

"I don't care!" he shouted and several students looked in their direction. "I _need _you Clare. I need you right now more than ever. My dad is back and... and I'm losing it. I-I can't handle this. Please don't leave me by myself right now. I need you." Clare's blue eyes looked away and Drew knew exactly what she was thinking before she even said a word.

"I'm sorry Drew," he gritted his teeth at her and back away. He'd never felt so alone before; not since his dad had left.

"You know what... You want Eli so bad? Fine. I hope you have fun getting played by him."

"Drew," Clare tried to silence him and calm him down but he refused to listen. "It's what's best for the both of us. We shouldn't spend time together, not until we can get this all straightened out at least. I'd like to still be there for you... I... I'm sorry!" she blurted. Out of the corner of her eyes she noticed the dozens of other students looking at them now, but much to Clare's mortification Drew merely continued.

"No Clare! Just forget it. I'm done coming second to Eli," Drew stormed off leaving Clare by herself as many other began to whisper around her.

**Well, I hope you liked it!**


	14. Red Handed

**A/N: **I promised I would get this up by tonight so I did. It would have been up sooner but I had some unexpected guests in my house that I had to tend to first. Oh well, better late than never right? I hope you all like this chapter! Enjoy :)

P.S. I swear, I think I was high or something when I re-wrote the ending of this chapter at the last second. It's so random. What was I thinking? I'm a weirdo. Okay, you should read the chapter now. Don't forget to review!

* * *

_"Don't you get it?" he shouted. "I don't love you Bianca! You're insane! Don't you ever try to fucking touch me ever again!" You stared at him silently as you took in his words. That didn't make any sense. You're Bianca, the one and only. Every guy wants you, so what made him so different than the rest? You tried to step closer to the green eyed boy with a forced smile as if what he said hadn't fazed you, but he swatted you away._

_"Eli, don't be stupid. We both know you want me," you tried to reason with him, but he wasn't listening to you. He didn't care. At some point you made a mistake; you miscalculated. He didn't want you._

_"You're delirious." He turned his back on you as you tried to play with the hem of his jeans, but he wouldn't pay attention to you. For some reason he didn't care, and it tore you apart inside._

_"No! Don't go!" you shouted at the top of your lungs. He stopped for a second and turned to look at you. You could only see disgust on his face. There was no lust, there was no concern. There was not an ounce of love. You couldn't help it now. You didn't mean to but you slapped him across the face as hard as you could. Your hand stung and in that instant when your hand connected with his face it made sense. You weren't trying to get him to sleep with you. You were trying to get him to love you._

_"You are such a bitch," he said as he shook his head. "Are you happy now?" Eli paused as if he was waiting for a response from you, but you stood silent and stared at him blankly. "I don't want you, okay?" The tears were filling up in your eyes now and threatening to spill over any second, but you didn't know what to say. You couldn't let him win that easily. Not without one hell of a fight anyway._

_"I'm sorry!" you blurted. He laughed at your words as if they were meaningless._

_"Sorry? You're sorry? Oh gee Bianca, that makes everything better," he spat sarcastically. At this point you could feel a single tear sliding down your cheek, but you rubbed it away violently. "You ruined my relationship with Clare! And why? Because you're nothing more than an idiot skank. You're absolutely repulsive to me."_

_He may as well have shot you in your chest. Your face is covered in tears and you try to wipe them off but to no avail. He's broken you. That stupid goth boy with the cute smile has reduced you to nothing. Your voice that usually provides you with quick responses has left you. You're dying and he won't put you out of your misery. You can't even think anymore and now you're shrieking, despite the looks other students are giving you in the hallway. It doesn't matter what they think. You'll tell them you were drunk. They'll believe you anyway._

_"Maybe... just maybe, I love you," you try to say. It's the only explanation you can think of. You've never said that to a guy before and you're not even sure if you mean it. But if it'll make Eli stay a little longer, it's worth it. He rolls his eyes and is about to walk away but you hold on to him for a moment longer. There's nothing left for you to say as he shakes you out of his grasp. What sense does this make? Why are you doing this to yourself?_

"Bianca wake up!" her mother shouted. Bianca groaned and rolled over in her bed. She sighed in relief, thankful that it had only been a dream, but was suddenly annoyed when she realized the sad reality that Eli was still together with Clare, despite the recent rumors she had helped Alli spread. How hard was it to break up such a stupid couple, especially with her and Drew in the picture?

Angrily, Bianca tossed her pillow back over her face until she realized something.

Drew.

Instead of trying to ruin Clare's reputation, why didn't she just get Drew involved? He wanted to be with Clare and she wanted Eli. If she could get him on board with her, tearing Clare and Eli apart would be a cinch. Had she thought of that a week ago, her life would have been so much simpler. With a devious smile, Bianca hopped out of bed and got ready for school, various schemes filling her mind as she readied herself for another day in Degrassi.

* * *

"I refuse to get Drew involved," Alli said with a strict look. Bianca rolled her eyes as she crossed her arms over her chest, towering over the sophomore.

"Why not Bhandari?" Bianca demanded. "You know he likes your friend. If we tell him what we're doing-"

"Then he'll tell her! Besides Clare doesn't deserve him!" Alli exclaimed. When she realized the odd look Bianca was giving her she quickly corrected herself. "I mean, he doesn't deserve Clare." Bianca rolled her eyes yet again.

"Are you sure you don't want him to help us just because you're jealous your little friend is getting all the hotties?" The older girl asked with a slightly amused smirk. Alli blushed and growled at Bianca, casting a look over her shoulder to make sure no one was listening to their conversation.

"Since when did you consider Eli a hottie?" Alli wondered with a suspicious look. Bianca, being one to never miss a beat shrugged her shoulders casually and quickly changed the subject.

"Whatever. I'm saying if you want to break up Eli and Clare, getting Drew on our team will make our lives so much easier."

"I thought we were trying to break them up so you could have Drew to yourself. If Drew's on our side, then when we break up Eli and Clare, she'll get together with Drew. That's not what I want at all." Alli stared up at Bianca sadly. The older girl huffed loudly. She couldn't care less about Alli's own emotional problems.

"Why is this about you?" Bianca asked in a slightly annoyed tone. Alli frowned indignantly before she continued talking, making sure to change the topic as quickly as possible.

"Look. We're not involving Drew okay?" Alli said. "I know it's a bad idea." Bianca jutted out her lips in an aggravated pout before she took a step toward Alli.

"Listen pipsqueak, unless you want your little friend to know you started the rumors about her, you're going to find Drew and tell him about the plan. Got it?" Bianca threatened. Alli's brown eyes widened in fear.

"No... Bianca, you wouldn't..."

"Try me Bhandari," Bianca replied coldly. With a reluctant sigh, Alli looked down at the ground before nodding.

"Fine. I'll get Torres on board."

* * *

"Alright class, I want you all to get into pairs and work together on analyzing the poems on page 94 in your workbooks," Ms. Dawes said. Before she was even done speaking, Adam lunged from his seat and darted over to Clare, nearly bumping into Eli on the way. Clare peered up at the two and quickly sensed tension between them. She timidly cleared her throat but was coldly ignored by both parties.

"Can you move?" Adam asked bitterly. The older boy seemed rather chipper and unfazed while Adam appeared to be on the verge of punching someone.

"Oh, am I in your way?" Eli asked with a charming smile. "I'm so sorry Adam. Really, let me pull out your chair for you."

"Oh would you?" Adam's blue eyes, which were usually two bright blue puddles were suddenly dark and angry.

"Anything for my favorite English partner," Eli sugar coated his words and even threw in his signature smirk. It took everything Adam had in him to not reach over on slap Eli's smirk off his face but he was able to satisfy his anger by merely rolling his eyes, obviously not amused by Eli's silly mind games.

"I want to work with Clare this time," Adam said curtly. "You don't mind, do you?" Eli sneered for a second but he forced a smile. He looked at Clare who seemed terrified and confused beyond belief as she looked at the two teenage boys, then directed his gaze back at Adam.

"Of course not. She's all yours Adam." Eli's eyes darkened as he gave Clare another look before he walked away to be teamed up with another junior in the class. Clare gave Adam a small smile as he took as seat beside her.

"So what was that about?" she asked curiously as Adam got settled in his seat.

"What was what about?" he replied as he stared at Clare innocently. She was even more confused but sighed and decided to leave well enough alone.

"Well, er- okay... So why don't we read these poems first then categorize them by-"

"Why are you still with Eli? Was seeing him with Bianca not enough for you?" Adam demanded. Clare looked taken back. Was that really why Adam wanted to work with her? Her face quickly flushed and her eyes shone with unshed tears but quickly she composed herself.

"Let me guess, Drew told you?" she asked. "Well, you know why Eli and I are still together, so just drop it."

"You don't even seem happy with him anymore," Adam continued, clearly ignoring Clare's wish to focus on schoolwork.

"And what? You think I should leave him for Drew and live happily ever after?" Adam sighed before he dug into his pocket and placed a shiny silver ring on Clare's desk. "What is that?" She picked it up and inspected it carefully. The middle had a heart with a small cross engraved on it, the familiar words "True Love Waits" were written across the band. It shimmered in the light and she carefully placed it on her ring finger. She gasped; it was a perfect fit.

"Drew went out and bought it for you. He would have given it to you yesterday until you rejected him in front of like, half the school," Adam stated.

"Oh my God," Clare muttered as she put the ring on her finger, tears glistening in her eyes. "He must have spent so much on this."

"He did," Adam said. "He was so excited and he was crushed when you made him feel like crap like that. He didn't even eat dinner last night. As soon as he got home from the hospital he went up to his room and didn't talk to anyone. Seriously Clare, why are you still with Eli?"

"I-I thought it was the right thing to do... But now... I'm not so sure..."

"Does Eli make you happy?" Adam asked.

"You know what's been happening with us lately," Clare stated.

"Then stop holding on to the past. I'm not saying dump Eli and jump in bed with Drew when you get the chance... Ew, by the way," Adam joked. Clare rolled her baby blue eyes but cracked a small smile before Adam continued. "You should at least talk to Drew. He's hurting Clare. Really badly. You owe him that much right?" He demanded, staring up into her eyes. Clare sighed and nodded her head in agreement.

"I'll talk to him after school today," she promised. Adam smiled softly and opened a workbook.

"Good. Now how are we getting these poems categorized again?"

* * *

"Clare?" Drew looked up surprised from where he was seated in the hospital. He stood up and gave her a confused look, but she quickly wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug. He quickly peeled her off of him, staring at her quizzically. "What are you doing here?"

"I can explain," Clare said, slightly out of breath, presumably from running all the way to the hospital after school ended. "I know you probably hate me after all those things I said yesterday, and I couldn't stand that thought of leaving things like that Drew. I had to come see you." Drew stared at the brunette without any indication of forgiveness. He seemed devoid of any emotion and looked at her with dark eyes.

"Well, now you see me right? So you can go back to Eli now and go your own way. You were right Clare, we shouldn't be together," Drew replied, a slight hitch in his breathing. Clare gasped but swallowed her sadness, eager to continue.

"No..." Clare said. "You said you needed me... And I didn't realize until now you were telling the truth. I need you too Drew, and I want to be here for you."

"Thanks Clare," he said as he paused, carefully thinking of the next thing to say. "But... the thing is, I don't need you anymore." Horrified, Clare took a step back away from Drew and stared at him, unable to think of anything else to say. Drew's eyes were fixed on the ground, his thoughts running at a mile a minute and none of them were helping his situation. The normal, rational part of his brain was kicking himself for pushing Clare away, knowing that he could have ruined all his chances with her, but the irrational part, that fueled his anger and paranoia congratulated him for distancing himself for her when he was at his weakest. They were drenched in silence until Audra left Antonio's room and turned a corner, walking towards Drew. He nervously looked at Clare, trying to think of some way to cover for her.

"Hi Mrs. Torres," Clare said in her sweetest voice. She held out her hand but Audra gave her a wicked look, making Clare drop her hand awkwardly.

"Drew, you can go in to see your father now," she said. Drew nodded and grabbed Clare, forced her to come with him before his mother could question him about her. When they were out of earshot, Drew dropped his hand and stepped away from Clare sighing as he did so. It was painful to have to force himself away from her but he had to. He couldn't let himself fall for her. Not again.

"Do you want me with you when you see him?" Clare asked, hoping to fill the silence.

"No," Drew mumbled. "I know why you're here; you want to clear your conscience but I can't do this anymore Clare. I put myself out there for you and you rejected me. Now am I just supposed to forgive you like that?"

"Eli is still my boyfriend..." Clare began but Drew cut her off.

"I know. And I'm nothing to you. Nothing at all. So just go alright?" Drew croaked. Clare's lip began to quiver but instead of doing what Drew asked she reached forward and threw her arms around his neck and let her lips brush against his. The action was short; in one instant they were kissing, in the next she was merely standing in front him. Clare looked up at the older boy expectantly, but Drew looked away.

It wasn't fair. Every time he looked at her his heartbeat sped up. Every time she kissed him, he felt the urge to smile. But she didn't feel the same way so why was she acting like she did? Why did she keep stringing him along like that?

It wasn't fucking fair.

"Clare go!" Drew shouted in frustration, pointing at an exit. "I don't need you, you hear me? I never want to see you again!"

"Drew I-"

"I said go," he repeated as he turned to walk away. As he made it to the room his father was in, Drew stopped abruptly in his tracks and stared at the door. On the other side of that door was his father, living and breathing. His hand lingered on the doorknob but he couldn't find the strength to push it open. Not with all that nonsense he had on his on conscience for screaming at Clare. Impulsively he let go of the doorknob and turned around, running back to Clare who had just left through the exit he had pointed at and was making her way briskly down the street with what looked like tears in her eyes.

"Clare!" Drew shouted as he darted after her. She stopped to look at him as she wiped her eyes. The blue eyed boy finally caught up to her but before Clare could say a word, he threw his arms around her and kissed her deeply. His fingers played with her curly hair, his lips moved in perfect sync with hers. It was if he was trying to explain all his feelings for her in one kiss, but he knew such an action was futile. One kiss would never be enough to show her how he really felt about her. She almost fell into his grasp, carelessly playing with the collar on his shirt and letting her hands feel and caress his face and chest. In all honesty, she was a bit hesitant and clumsy, but she was Clare.

She was perfect.

They stayed there for a few moments until they pulled apart for air, both caught in speechlessness and only a hairsbreadth away. Drew couldn't even process what was going through his head. Excitement, joy, ecstasy… All those adjectives seemed to pale in comparison to how he truly felt. He wasn't smiling, but his lips curved upward in a small smirk. He didn't need to smile; Clare could see all his emotion in his eyes. For a moment, Drew thought nothing could ruin such a perfect, but of course he was wrong.

"Oh my God..." Clare whispered as she looked over Drew's shoulder. Drew turned to see what she was staring at and his mouth fell open. The first thing he saw was his younger step brother, staring at them from across the street with a smoothie in his hand and a slightly pleased expression.

The second was Eli.


	15. Unravel

**A/N: **Hi I know I haven't updated in a while, but I'm back! Hang in there though, this fic is almost over. There's only a few more chapters, and you will finally find out about Drew's dad and what he did to Drew in the next chapter. (I know right? I'm so sad) That being said, I'd love to reach 100 reviews before I finish this fic. Think we can do it? I do :D

I love you guys so much! Enjoy :)

* * *

The only thing coming out of Drew's mouth was a string of profanity as he watched Eli and Adam made their way over to Clare and Drew. Clare looked terrified as well and bit her lip, unsure of what to say. How was she supposed to calm Eli down? She never though in a million years she would cheat in a relationship, but apparently she was wrong about a lot of things.

"Drew, go inside and see your dad," Clare demanded. "I'll talk to Eli."

"Clare, if you honestly think I'm going to leave you alone to deal with that sociopath..."

"Drew, I'll deal with it. Now go, we can talk about this later," Clare insisted. Reluctantly, Drew nodded his head and walked back into the hospital, casting a look at Eli who was glaring daggers at him. Eli's attention then quickly turned to Clare, who had now gathered up all her confidence and refused to look weak in front of Eli.

"What the hell was that?" Eli shouted at her. "It wasn't enough for you to cheat on me, but in broad daylight too? Are you proud of yourself now Clare? I can't believe you would do this to me-"

"You mean like how you cheated on me with Bianca? Sneaking around, pretending she was your History partner? Eli, I trusted you! I asked you if anything was going on with you and Bianca and you looked me in the eye and _lied_ to me!" Clare shouted. Eli looked hurt, but he knew she was right. It didn't make the pain go away though. All he could process was unimaginable rage; at Clare for cheating, at Drew for stealing his girlfriend, and at himself, for making such a huge mistake that would cost him Clare.

"So you only kissed Drew to get back at me? That doesn't sound like something Saint Clare would do," Eli stated.

"Maybe Drew and I kissed before this!" she blurted out. She managed to resist the urge to smack her forehead. Of all the things she could have said, that was by far the stupidest.

"Such a hypocrite as always. You lied to me too, probably even longer than I lied to you," Eli replied in a snarky tone. Clare huffed and rolled her eyes.

"I highly doubt that. I didn't want to have feelings for Drew, it just happened. But you? You chose to cheat on me didn't you? You probably did it just to spite me! Am I right?" she shrieked, her anger only escalating

"I was losing you Clare. Bianca came and comforted me when you didn't," he whispered weakly.

"And how long has that been going on? What, did she offer to have sex with you?" Eli was silent and Clare scoffed. "You disgust me. I can't be around you right now." Clare began walking off but Eli caught onto her arm.

"This conversation isn't over," Eli pleaded.

"But we are," she said as she wiggled out of his grasp. Eli stared at her, heartbroken and distraught as she walked into the hospital without a second thought. Adam, who had been silently standing next to the bickering couple, was quickly typing away on his cell phone, seemingly oblivious to what had just happened. In a matter of seconds, he typed his message and sent it, a small smile on his face.

_Alli, Eli and Clare just broke up, just like you said :)_

* * *

"Andrew? Is that you?" Antonio asked as he turned his head to look at his son. "My boy!"

"Dad..." Drew said. "I... uh... Hi." Before anything else could be said, Clare quietly crept into the room and peered at the father and son, locking eyes with Drew. He looked confused but the look in her eyes told him to leave well enough alone and they would have the conversation later.

"Aren't you gonna introduce me to your little lady friend?" his father joked. Clare smiled politely, but Drew sneered at Antonio hatefully.

"I'll pass that on offer," Drew remarked sharply as Clare stood by his side and gave Antonio and polite smile.

"Clare Edwards, nice to meet you," she said sweetly.

"Hm. She seems like a keeper," Antonio let out an amused laugh and Clare joined in awkwardly, though Drew didn't seem to be as entertained.

"Glad you're enjoying yourself in here," he stated bitterly as he crossed his arms over his chest. Antonio sighed heavily, knowing that Drew would be a bit difficult about the whole situation, though he had hoped it wouldn't have to deal with it so soon.

"How's school been son? Still the star athlete you were when I last saw you?" Antonio asked.

"Yeah. Not that you bothered to show up to any one of my games since the divorce," Drew replied plainly.

"Andy... I know when me and your mom broke up, it wasn't under the best circumstances. But that was years ago. I've changed since then," Antonio said.

"That's complete bull. If you changed at all you wouldn't be here right now," Drew stated bluntly. Antonio laughed it off, which only increased Drew's annoyance. His father still didn't take him seriously even after all those years.

"Ah, you know this habit of mine... It's so hard to fight it," Antonio explained.

"But leaving me and mom behind... That was really easy wasn't it?" Clare stepped back, knowing that nothing she said would help the situation. Drew had been dealing with so much resentment towards his father for years, and he was finally getting what he needed; he was finally getting closure.

"I do regret the things I put you through," Antonio said. "But there's no sense in living in the past son. Can't we just forgive and forget?"

"Forgive and forget? I will never forget what you did to me!" Drew shouted. Clare gasped quietly. Drew looked at Clare over his shoulder and looked regretful before he spun around and walked to the door of the hospital. "I'm sorry. I have to get out of here." He was close to running as he rushed through the hospital with Clare right behind him, trying desperately to reach him.

"Drew, wait!" Clare called after him. "You can't keep running away from this."

"There are some things you still don't know," Drew said. "I've done things, and I've seen things I wish I hadn't, and I was used. You can't even begin to understand it..."

"I can try," she reasoned, staring up into his eyes. He knew she was being sincere, but he couldn't bring himself to tell Clare what had happened. It hurt him so much, it made him sick to even think about it.

"I should go," he said and with that, he broke free from Clare's intese gaze, and was gone.

* * *

"Hey Bianca," Alli said in a rather chipper tone. Bianca gave her a wide grin as she nodded in acknowledgement at the sophomore.

"Hey Bhandari," Bianca greeted. "I'm guessing you kept up your half of the deal?"

"Eli and Clare are no more," Alli gloated with a proud smile. "Now all that's left is to keep Clare and Drew away from each other, long enough to talk some sense into her." Bianca looked at Alli is if she was stupid as she continued to remove books from her locker.

"Hate to break it to you Bhandari, but I don't care about you or you stupid jealousy. You can have fun breaking up Clare and Drew all by yourself, but I have Eli now and that's all I care about," Bianca stated with a smug smirk. Alli's jaw dropped as Bianca spoke. Did Bianca really use her like that? How stupid could she be?

"This whole time you just wanted Eli to yourself? How selfish are you?" Alli screeched at the older girl.

"No more selfish than you are. Trying to keep your friend out of a relationship just because you're jealous? How pathetic! And your _best_ friend no less!" Alli looked at the floor ashamed of her actions, but Bianca didn't stop. "You can say a lot about me, but a least when I still boyfriends, it's from people I don't care about." The older girl slammed her locker shut and began walking away.

"What have I done?" Alli mumbled.

* * *

"Hey Adam," Clare said as she greeted her blue eyed friend. He gave her a small smile and the two began walking out of Degrassi together before they reached the parking lot where Eli stood, staring intensely at the two.

"Hey Clare, your friend is staring at us..." Adam said pointing in Eli's direction. Clare looked to see that Eli was indeed staring at them, but his attention was then focused on a curly haired brunette who strutted by and placed a chaste kiss on his lips.

"Not anymore," Clare muttered as she turned her head away from Eli and Bianca.

"I'm sorry," Adam said.

"Don't be. It's better that I know right?" she said, though she still had a sad look in her eyes that broke Adam's heart.

"Yeah I guess," Adam agreed. "Why don't we just go to my house. We can get our homework done and chill."

"That sounds fun, but you don't mind if I talk to Drew, do you? I haven't seen him since he walked out of the hospital two days ago."

"I don't think that's a great idea..." Adam cringed and Clare cocked her head to the side in confusion.

"Why not?" Clare asked. Adam looked at her sheepishly and sighed as they continued in the direction of the Torres household.

"There's a reason Drew wasn't in school yesterday or today... The night after Drew left his dad in the hospital...His dad died."

"What?" Clare screeched. "You've got to be kidding me! How?"

"There were complications during his treatment or something... I don't really know to be honest," Adam explained. "Drew just locked himself in his room after he found out. I've barely seen him since."

"Oh my gosh, I have to talk to him," Clare said.

"Good luck, he won't talk to anyone. He's not himself," Adam replied.

"Adam, if you think I'm going to give up on Drew, you're wrong," Clare said as she started walking towards the Torres household at an even faster pace. Adam followed closely behind his blue eyed friend and watched silently as she tried calling him a dozen times with no response. Clare bit her lip. What if Drew blamed himself for his father's death somehow? Who knew how far he'd go to punish himself? Those thoughts alone were enough to make her sick.

Soon enough, Adam and Clare reached the former's house and ran inside, dropping their bags and jackets in a pile on the floor. Without a word, Clare sprinted up stairs to Drew's room and knocked on the door as hard as she could.

"Drew? It's me, Clare. Please let me in, I'm worried about you." No response. "Drew! I'm serious! Let me in!" Still no response. "Drew Torres if you don't open this door right now I'll-" At that moment the door swung open and revealed a sickly looking Drew. He looked much paler than usual, his eyes were red and puffy, his entire demeanor was dreary. He tried his best to feign a smile and Clare returned the gesture cautiously. This wasn't the Drew she knew.

"Hi Clare. I think I'm ready to tell you everything now."


	16. No More Secrets

**A/N: It's been a while hasn't it? I was gonna wait till tomorrow to update but I got some inspiration so I typed this up on my iPod. Hopefully I caught all the mistakes autocorrect made and hopefully tomorrow when I look at this story it'll finally have 100 reviews! Here's hoping! Enjoy guys!**

* * *

Clare stepped slowly into Drew's room carefully and took a look around. It looked exactly the same way it did the last time she was there. A few articles of clothing scattered here and there, a barrage of sports trophies that lined his dressers. But taking a good look at Drew was something entirely different. His usual cocky smile was nowhere to be found. His cheeks were stained with tears. His bright blue eyes were filled with a sadness Clare had never seen before. She didn't say anything but instead threw her arms around Drew in a tight hug, which he returned whole heartedly.

"You wanna sit on my bed with me?" he asked as he locked the door. Clare nodded and crawled onto Drew's bed, allowing her body to rest comfortably against him. Clare sat up and let Drew rest his head on her shoulder. He looked so fragile and she didn't know what to say, so she hoped that maybe her actions would speak louder than words.

"Only tell me as much as you feel comfortable telling me," Clare said as she intertwined her fingers in Drew's hair. It took him a minute for him to find his voice but he finally did and began to tell her everything he had kept buried for all those years.

"So you know my dad was a coke addict. I don't know how bad it was... Right before he died... But when he lived with me, it was really bad. I told you that he would get high when my mom wasn't there and how he led a double life and all that stuff," Drew said. Clare nodded her head, recalling the various accounts Drew had previously told her. "He had a friend named Miranda. I don't really know what happened to her. She's probably dead too. At least I hope so. I hated that lady."

"Did your dad do drug with Miranda?" Clare asked.

"More than that," Drew said as he shuddered disgustedly. Clare held Drew in her arms tighter as he continued. "Miranda was my dad's dealer, and after a while, my dad couldn't keep up with payments. So, my dad made a deal with Miranda. She'd give him free coke if he paid her in other ways." Clare looked puzzled and without any further prodding, Drew got right to the point. "He cheated on my mom with Miranda."

"Oh," Clare's eyes widened. "How do you know?"

"Because my dad and Miranda were sickos. There was one time they got high together and I'll never forget it..." he paused and tensed, taking a second to collect his thoughts.

"Are you sure you wanna tell me?" Clare asked.

"I'm sure. I trust you," Drew said. Clare gave him a genuine smile and he forced himself to continue with his story. "I was only five years old I think. My mom went out with one of her friends. They were shopping or something. I was home with my dad, and I remember begging him to take me to the park, but he wouldn't because he said Miranda was coming over. I never liked Miranda, not even as ankid. I always knew there was something off about her, so when my dad told me to go up to my room before Miranda got there, I hid in the living room and watched them.

Miranda came in and, well she used to scare me as a kid. She was really sickly looking. She kind of looks like Jenna, but not as pretty. I guess that's what years of coke and who knows what else does to you. Anyway, the first thing Miranda did when she came in was just start making out with my dad. And me being five started screaming my head off because, well, first of all she was super gross and second, I knew my mom would be so mad if she saw. I started freaking out at my dad and I was crying because what he was doing was wrong and I knew it. I ran up to him and told him to make Miranda go home or someting, but all he did was push me off to the side and they went to the kitchen.

I didn't know what they were doing at the time, but looking back I realized they were snorting coke together. I was still pissed that my dad was with Miranda, but he was so high and they were just laughing at me. I thought maybe if I started making a bigger scene, he'd listen to me," Drew said. He caught his breath and kept going.

"I started crying really hard but that only made things worse. My dad went from laughing like an idiot to batshit insane in a matter of seconds. He started cursing at me and he hit me a lot. At first it was just him slapping me. It wasn't really anything but then Miranda came over and told my dad something and they carried me upstairs to the guest room..."

"And what did they do to you?" Clare asked. Drew's eyes were rimmed with tears. She was just about to tell him that he had said enough when he blurted out the rest of the story.

"_They_ didn't do it," Drew said. "My_ father_ did. He beat me. He started breaking things, saying when my mom got back, he'd tell her how bad I was. He just wouldn't stop, and that was the first time he'd ever done that. He just kept swearing at me. He took something, and tied my hands behind my back. I was still crying and he threatened to beat me more if I didn't stop. I didn't, and he kept hitting me and after that he untied me and locked me in the bathroom until just before my mom got home."

"She didn't catch him?" Clare looked appalled by what she was hearing and Drew merely shook his head.

"I remember him telling her that I was being bad and going wild while she was gone so she punished me. And I was so scared to tell her the truth because I thought my dad would do it again," Drew explained.

"Did he?"

"Yeah... Every time he got high after that he'd tie my wrists together and lock me in the bathroom or a closet. I would scream a lot and sometimes he'd put something in my mouth to keep me quiet. And I never toldmy mom because I was so afraid of my dad. He would always make fun of me when he did those things too. He'd call me a girl, tell me I needed to man up... I just figured if he was doing all those cruel things to me, maybe something was wrong with me..." Drew's voice trailed off.

"Drew there is absolutely nothing wrong with you," Clare said. "You were in a bad place and your father was doing bad things. None of this is your fault." there was a long silence and Clare was certain Drew was asleep on his shoulder when he finally spoke up.

"I never thought I'd be able to trust anyone the way I trust you," he admitted. "Clare Edwards, what have you done to me?" She smiled and accepted when he learned toward her and kissed her softly, without forcing her to go any further.

"Come on," Clare said. "Let's go out."

"Go out?" Drew asked. "Where?"

"Anywhere," she replied as she rolled off of his bed and took him by the hand. "I just really wanna be with you."


End file.
